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/The  Town  of  Cicero 

HISTORY,  ADVANTAGES,  AND 
GOVERNMENT 

BY 

WALTER  BISHOP  SPELMAN,  A.  B. 


PLATE  I 


Copy  of  plate  in 

Discovery  and  Conquests  of  the  Northwest 

by  Rufus  Blanchard. 


The  Town  of  Cicero 

HISTORY,  ADVANTAGES,  AND 
GOVERNMENT 


BY 

WALTER  BISHOP  SPELMAN,  A.  B. 

Instructor  of  Social  Science 

J.  Sterling  Morton  High  School 

Cicero,  Illinois 


Vocational  Department— -Division  of  Printing 

J.  Sterling  Morton  High  School 

Cicero,  Illinois 

S)C1A705874  V 

JUN18'23 


^c  *v 


777,3/ 


% 


FOREWORD 


After  several  years'  experience  in  the  teaching  of  civics  I 
began  to  realize  that  it  always  paid  to  study  the  government 
of  one's  own  community ;  and  it  paid  for  these  two  reasons : 
the  boys  and  girls  whom  I  had  in  class  were  some  day  to  run 
that  community ;  and  the  teaching  of  county,  state,  and  national 
governments  was  rendered  doubly  effective  by  the  careful  study 
of  local  government  and  local  problems.  Certainly  democratic 
self-government;  the  theory  of  checks  and  balances  in  our  three- 
fold division  of  the  legislative,  the  executive,  and  the  judicial 
departments  ;  American  civil  and  political  rights ;  political  par- 
ties ;  taxation  ;  and  a  great  many  of  the  present  problems,  eco- 
nomic and  social,  whether  they  are  labor  unions,  or  capital,  or 
conservation,  or  crime,  or  disease,  or  poverty ;  all  can  be  brought 
directly  to  the  students'  attention  and  within  their  compre- 
hension. 

Furthermore,  knowledge  is  one  result  of  education,  and  the 
doing  of  something  with  the  aid  of  that  knowledge  is  another 
result.  Then,  let  the  boys  and  girls  (in  class)  vote  at  their 
town  elections  ;  let  them  visit  and  talk  with  the  legislative,  ex- 
ecutive, and  judicial  bodies  ;  let  them  help  solve  these  problems, 
economic  and  social,  by  saving  their  earnings,  by  planting  trees, 
by  being  "big  brothers"  or  Boy  Scouts,  by  caring  for  Christmas 
baskets.  In  these  ways  the  civics  class  attains  the  aim  of 
modern  education — activity. 

I  owe  thanks  for  ideas  and  suggestions  to  Mr.  K.  D.  Waldo's 
pamphlet,  "The  Government  of  Aurora,"  and  to  Miss  Mary 
Louise  Child's   book,  "Actual   Government   in   Illinois." 

I  am  indebted  for  assistance  in  securing  information  regard- 
ing the  history  and  government  of  Cicero  to  Miss  Helen  A.  Bag- 


ley,  Librarian  of  the  Oak  Park  Public  Library ;  Mr.  Timothy 
Buckley,  Collector  of  the  Town  of  Cicero ;  and  to  Mr.  O.  ft 
Schantz,  Township  Treasurer.  Always  I  have  been  treated  with 
courtesy  and  sincere  interest  by  the  large  number  of  persons 
whom  I  consulted :  town  officials,  school  officials,  aged  citizens, 
Chicago  officials,  the  management  of  the  Western  Electric  Co.j 
and  the  vice-president  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy 
Railroad. 

The  pamphlet  is  written  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  Cicero. 

WALTER  B.  SPELMAN. 


\  i 


Respectfully  dedicated 

to  one  who  makes  ideals  realities, 

HARRY  VICTOR  CHURCH 


Vll 


THE  AMERICAN'S  CREED 

I  believe  in  the  United  States  of  America  as  a  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people ;  whose  just  powers 
are  derived  from  the  consent  of  the  governed ;  a  democracy  in 
a  republic ;  a  sovereign  nation  of  many  sovereign  states ;  a  per- 
fect Union,  one  and  inseparable;  established  upon  those  princi- 
ples of  freedom,  equality,  justice,  and  humanity  for  which  Amer- 
ican patriots  sacrificed  their  lives  and  fortunes. 

I  therefore  believe  it  is  my  duty  to  my  country  to  love  it,  to 
support  its  constitution,  to  obey  its  laws,  to  respect  its  flag  and 
to  defend  it  against  all  enemies. 

— William  Tyler  Page. 

(As  formally  accepted  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  April  3,  1918) 


vm 


HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


PARTI 

Years  ago,  an  Indian,  a  tall  Weamiami  warrior,  stood  on  a 
slight  eminence  of  the  Western  prairie.  Before  him  was  a  slug- 
gish stream,  flowing  toward  the  northwest,  where  the  Indian's 
keen  eye  caught  a  glimpse  through  the  trees  of  another  stream, 
very  much  like  the  first.  He  knew,  too,  that  those  two  rivers 
joined  beyond  the  fringe  of  trees  and  forced  their  waters  past 
bars  of  sand  into  the  great  "Lake  Chicagou."  After  a  glance 
3ackward  over  the  wide  fertile  plain,  a  rolling  expanse  of  prairie 
weeds  and  wild  sunflowers,  he  walked  to  the  river-bank,  un- 
loosed a  bark  canoe,  and  paddled  south  and  then  west,  up  a 
branch  of  the  river.  Presently  he  passed  a  ridge  of  oak  trees, 
)n  his  right,  while  to  his  left  he  viewed  a  heavy  swamp.  Then 
le  ran  his  canoe  high  up  on  a  bar  of  sand,  jumped  out,  made  a 
ihort  portage,  and  was  in  the  river  "Desplein." 

That  prairie  is  our  town-site;  the  rivers  are  the  south  and 
lorth  branches  of  the  Chicago  river ;  the  lake  is  Lake  Michigan. 
Che  Indian  was  of  the  tribe  of  Weamiamis,  the  early  occupants 
>f  this  soil.  His  course  was  up  the  west  fork  of  the  south  branch 
)f  the  Chicago  river  into  the  swamp  now  known  as  Mud  Lake, 
ind  thence  to  the  Des  Plaines  river. 

How  historic  is  the  ancient  land  on  our  southern  boundary! 
rhat  Indian  was  followed  in  after  years  by  Father  Jacques 
Marquette  (1673)  ;  by  Sieur  de  La  Salle  (1681)  ;  and  by  the  fa- 
nous  Tonty,  and  later  by  Indian  traders,  explorers,  pioneers, 
rench,  Spanish,  English ;  by  officials,  even  Governor  Cass  of 
Michigan.  The  old  route  is  still  traceable,  but  our  drainage  sys- 
ems  have  obliterated  the  streams  and  swamps  and  an  earthen 
like  separates  Mud  Lake  from  the  Des  Plaines  River. 

Shortly  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  in  the  year  1765,  the 
Veamiamis  were  driven  from  this  prairie  corner  of  the  lake  by 
powerful  fighting  tribe  from  southern  Wisconsin,  the  Potta- 
/ottamies.  Resistlessly  they  passed  southward  until  they  swept 
ntirely  around  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan.  This  was  the  tribe 
hat  participated  in  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn  (August  15, 
812).  These  Indians,  shrewd  and  energetic,  were  the  last  to 
save  Illinois,  lingering  about  Chicago  until  1835.     Slowly  but 


Chicagou- 

Desplein 

Portage 


Weamiamis 
Driven  out  by 

Pottawottomies 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Organization 

of 

Cook  County 


Cause*  of 
Migration 


surely,  however,  the  advance  of  the  whites  and  the  yielding  of 
the  Indians'  lands  by  the  Treaty  of  Greenville  (1795)  and  the 
successive  treaties  of  1816,  1832,  and  1833,  forced  their  reireat 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  There  is  a  reminiscence  handed  down 
by  an  old  settler  of  Oak  Park  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  P'ofc- 
tawottomies'  leaving  their  Des  Plaines  camp  grounds,  one  of  the 
packhorses  loaded  with  salt  slipped  in  fording  a  small  branch 
stream- — hence  the  name,  Salt  Creek. 

During  this  period  the  civilization  of  our  prairie  began.  Un- 
der the  authority  of  the  Federal  government,  the  land  was  suc- 
cessively organized  as  the  Northwest  Territory,  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, Illinois  Territory,  and  in  1818  the  State  of  Illinois.  Mean- 
while the  westward  emigration  was  slowly  and  steadily  populat- 
ing southern  Illinois,  developing  the  embryo  city  of  St.  Louis: 
founded  in  1764;  and  creating  in  northern  Illinois  the  Queer 
City  of  the  Middle  West,  Chicago,  with  its  village  charter  iti 
1833  and  its  city  charter  in  1837.  With  Chicago  grew  towm 
to  the  north  and  south,  and  inland  to  the  west,  until  in  1831 
Cook  County  was  organized,  at  that  time  including  the  pres; 
ent  Dupage,  Lake,  McHenry,  Will,  and  Iroquois  Counties.  Ouj 
county  received  its  name  from  Daniel  P.  Cook,  a  representativ< 
tojCongress  from  southern  Illinois. 

\^At  this  time  Chicago  was  only  a  village  in  number  of  people-H 
having  approximately  4,170  residents — and  our  town  was  stil 
a  fertile  prairie,  sparsely  wooded  at  the  east  and  south,  and  o* 
the  ridges  to  the  west.  But  Chicago  had  started,  and  while  ii 
could  go  north  and  south  it  could  not  go  east ;  the  result  was  j 
westward  expansion,  and  that  westward  movement  is  still  a 
irresistible  one  today. 

Here  must  be  stated  at  least  three  causes  of  that  increase 
migration  to  the  west:  First,  the  Erie  canal,  finished  in  1825 
which  opened  a  direct  waterway  from  the  Atlantic  coast  t 
Chicago  for  freight  and  passengers ;  second,  the  National  roac 
built  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling  and  later  extended  to  Van 
dalia,  Illinois;  third,  European  immigration  that  crept  up  fror 
hundreds  to  hundreds  of  thousands^  If  the  defeat  of  the  Indian 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war  (1832)  and  the  recognition  of  the  fei 
tility  of  Illinois  soil  be  added  to  Chicago's  transportation  pos 
tion,  soon  to  be  improved  by  the  building  of  the  Illinois  an 


HISTORY 


Michigan  canal  in  1848,  the  westward  growth  was,  indeed,  in- 
evitable. 

Prior  to  the  year  1849  our  territory  was  under  the  county 
unit  of  government.  Taxes,  roads,  bridges,  and  elections  were 
directed  by  county  officers.  The  county  was  divided  into  pre- 
cincts and  the  precincts  into  road  districts.  In  1840  the  popula- 
tion of  Cook  County,  including  Chicago,  was  10,201,  and  by  1850 
it  had  increased  to  43,385.  The  Illinois  constitution  of  1848  re- 
quired the  legislature  to  pass  a  township  law,  and  it  was  passed 
the  following  year.  So  on  November  6,  1849,  Cook  County  was 
organized  into  townships.  To  the  northwest  along  the  Des 
Plaines  river  was  the  township  of  Taylor,  later,  in  1850,  changed 
to  Proviso,  after  the  Wiimot  Proviso  Bill,  which  was  at  that 
time  agitating  Congress.  Our  township,  Number  39  North, 
Range  13  East,  according  to  the  rectangular  system  adopted  in 
1785  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  with  its  thirty-six  square  miles,  ex- 
tended from  Western  Avenue  (24th)  on  the  east  to  Harlem  Av- 
enue (72nd)  on  the  west;  and  from  North  Avenue  on  the  north 
to  Thirty-ninth  Street  on  the  south. 

This  township  had  its  pioneer  settlers,  hardy  men  and  women 
of  the  frontier,  upon  whose  work  rests  the  city  of  to-day.  Back 
in  1831  two  Englishmen,  George  Bickerdike  and  Mark  Noble,  Jr., 
jSuilt  a  small  lumber  mill  on  the  "Aux  Plaines^^rivTfr'^u^uiess 
was  precarious  due  to  the  long  distance  from  any  settlers.  It 
happened  that  Bickerdike  had  a  friend  over  in  Yorkshire,  Eng 
land,  whom  he  urged  to  come  over  to  the  "Land  of  Promise." 
This  friend,  Joseph  Kettlestrings,  left  England  in  1831  and  made 
the  long  trip  with  a  wife  and  three  children  to  this  locality.  By 
1835  he  had  pre-empted  a  quarter  section  (about  173  acres)  on 
a  ridge  covered  with  oak  trees.  The  present  boundaries  of  that 
iand  would  be  Harlem  Avenue,  Chicago  Avenue,  Oak  Park  Av-  . 
eriiie,  and  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad.  Kettlestrings 
buflrtf  House  of  oak  boards  on  that  part  of  his  possessions  which 
was  the  only  really  dry  land  between  the  Des  Plaines  river  and 
Chicago.  (The  last  statement  explains  why  that  section  of  Ci- 
cero was  settled  first).  The  name  of  Oak  Ridge,  later  Oak  Park, 
*.vas  gradually  adopted ;  and  when  Kettlestrings  added  a  dining- 
room  and  a  "bar"  to  his  house,  he  called  it  Oak  Ridge  Tavern. 
His  real  work  was  farming,  however,  and  it  was  hard  work  on 


Township 
No.  39  North 
Range  13  East 


Early  Settlers 
Oak  Ridge 
(Park) 


^ 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


The  Tornado 


Stock 
Farming 


James  W. 
Scoville 


account  of  the  need  of  drainage.    He  was  compelled  to  use  oxen  j 
instead  of  horses,  as  the  cloven,  spread-out  foot  of  the  oxen  en- 
abled    them    to    traverse    the    swamps.      This    pioneer    stayed, 
worked,  and  succeeded. 

The  next  early  settler  was  one  Reuben  Whaples.  He  started 
a  farm  over  in  "Lyons  Precinct,"  but  a  terrific  tornado  swept  ] 
away  all  his  property,  including  his  house.  Consequently  in  1845 
he  decided  to  try  Oak  Ridge,  where  he  built  a  log  house  that 
would  stay  where  it  was  placed.  Later  he  sold  his  land  to  John 
Henry  Quick,  but  he  again  bought  back  a  small  portion  on  which 
to  live. 

A  little  later  a  German,  Ferdinand  Haase,  visited  this  lo- 
cality (1849).    Two  years  afterward  he  bought  fifty-five  acres 
from  a  French  trader  named  Bourassa.    Haase  acquired,  as  time 
went  on,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  along  the  east  bank  of  the 
Des  Plaines  river,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  south  of  Oak  Grove,  j 
and  ran  a  stock  farm.    The  land  was  usually  covered  with  water,  I 
above   which   grew  weeds   and  wild   sun-flowers   in   luxuriant  I 
abundance.     The  latter  were  often  higher  than  a  horseman's  j 
head.    In  winter  Haase  was  accustomed  to  skate  from  the  Des 
Plaines  to  Chicago  and  return.     It  may  be  noted  here  that  he 
discovered  a  complete  Indian  burial  ground  on  this  land. 

Two  other  settlers  in  these  early  days  were  John  Henry 
Quick,  a  retired  merchant  of  New  York,  who  investigated  west- 
ern real  estate  and  in  1856  bought  a  farm  from  Whaples,  just 
west  of  that  owned  by  Kettlestrings ;  and  last,  a  very  important  | 
citizen,  James  W.  Scoville. 

James  W.  Scoville,  whose  ancestors  were  Puritans,  coming 
from  England  to  Connecticut,  was  born  in  Pompey,  Onondaga 
County,  New  York.  His  varied  life  as  contractor,  teacher,  and 
engineer  led  him  through  Oak  Ridge  when  he  made  a  trip  on 
toot  from  Chicago  to  Beloit,  in  1848.  On  his  return  he  traveled 
the  last  part  of  his  journey  in  a  freight  caboose  on  the  new  Chi- 
cago and  Galena  railroad.  He  went  back  East,  but  he  was  again 
attracted  by  the  call  of  the  West,  and  in  1856  he  bought  a  small 
lot  of  two  and  a  half  acres  in  Oak  Park.  By  1864  he  had  in- 
creased his  holdings  to  a  160  acre  lot,  just  east  of  Oak  Park  Av- 
enue.   Scoville  Avenue  and  Scoville  Institute  (Oak  Park  Public 


HISTORY 


Library)  testify  to  his  long  service  as  a  public-spirited  citizen 
of  the  community. 

The^firstxailroad  in  the  township  was  the  Chicago  and  Galena 
railroad,  built  from  Chicago  to  Harlem  in  1848  and  in  operation 
55^1849.  It  had  a  few  cars  and  a  clumsy  locomotive  running  on 
strap  rails."  The  schedule  called  for  two  trips  daily  to  the  city, 
with  the  fare  at  forty  cents.  This  road  became  the  property  of 
the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railroad  in  1865. 

It  was  not  long  before  these  early  settlers  began  to  demand 
local  government.  Accordingly,  early  in  the  year  1857,  the 
County  Clerk  of  Cook  County  posted  a  notice  within  the  town- 
ship— Number  39  North,  Range  13  East — requesting  the  people 
of  that  locality  to  organize  a  government.  The  electors  met  on 
June  25,  1857,  and  elected  N.  G.  Hurd  as  Moderator,  and  H.  P. 
Flower  as  Clerk  of  the  meeting.  The  electors  residing  within 
the  territory  at  that  time  numbered  only  fourteen,  representing 
probably  ten  families.  Their  names  are :  George  Scoville,  H.  H. 
Palmer,  James  W.  Scoville,  Reuben  Whaples,  John  Beaver,  Wm. 
H.  Scoville,  Joel  G.  Phillips,  B.  F.  Livingston,  Joseph  Kettle- 
strings,  Peter  Crawford,  H.  P.  Flower,  Ives  Scoville,  N.  G.  Hurd, 
and  Gilbert  Crawford. 

At  this  meeting  the  town  was  organized  and  it  received  its 
present  name — Cicero.  This  classical  nomenclature  was  sug- 
gested by  Augustus  Porter,  a  fine  gentleman,  who  had  formerly 
lived  in  the  town  of  Cicero  in  Onondaga  County,  New  York 
State.  The  people  there  proceeded  to  elect  officers  for  the  local 
government  as  follows : 

Supervisor — William  H.  Scoville. 

Justices  of  the  Peace — George  Scoville  and  Peter  Crawford 

Constables- — John  Beaver  and  Gilbert  Crawford. 

Assessor — James  W.  Scoville. 

Collector — Reuben  Whaples. 

Town  Clerk — H.  P.  Flower. 

Commissioners  of  Highways — George  Scoville,  Peter  Craw 
tord,  Joseph  Kettlestrings. 

Overseer  of  the  Poor — Joseph  Kettlestrings. 

These  gentlemen  served  until  the  next  general  town  meeting, 
which  was  held  April  6,  1858,  at  the  house  of  H.  Minier.  The 
town  had  grown   somewhat   since   its   organization   and   num~ 


The  First 
Railroad 


Town  of 
Cicero 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


The  Six 

Road 

Districts 


Volunteers 
to  Civil  War 


bered  on  this  occasion  eighty-one  voters,  all  of  whom  attendee 
the  meeting  and  participated  in  the  selection  of  the  following  offi- 
cers :  Wm.  H.  Scoville,  Supervisor;  H.  P.  Flower,  Town  Clerk 
Henry  Loewe,  Assessor;  A.  B.  Kellogg,  Collector;  Peter  Craw 
ford,  George  Scoville,  and  Joseph  Kettlestrings,  Highway  Com- 
missioners ;  Robert  Horn,  Constable. 

The  salaries  of  the  town  officers  were  ordered  paid  at  thisj 
meeting.  Town  Clerk  Flower  received  the  magnificent  sum  o: 
$57.00,  and  Supervisor  Wm.  H.  Scoville,  $10.35.  During  the  firsi 
and  second  years  of  the  town's  existence  the  entire  tax  levy  wai; 
$500.00,  of  which  sum  the  major  portion  was  devoted  to  roao. 
repairs. 

Later,  in  1860,  the  township  was  divided  into  six  road  dis1, 
ricts,  numbered  consecutively  from  one  to  six: 

No.  1.     Western  Avenue  to  Forty-eighth  Avenue,  North  Ave) 
nue  to  Madison  Street. 

No.  2.     Forty-eighth  Avenue  to  Harlem  Avenue.  North  Ave 
nue  to  Madison  Street. 

No.  3.     Western  Avenue  to  Forty-eighth  Avenue.  Madiscf 
to  Twenty-second  Street. 

No.  4.     Forty-eighth  Avenue  to  Harlem  Avenue,  Madison  t^ 
Twenty-second  Street. 

No.  5.     Western  Avenue  to  Forty-eighth  Avenue,  Twenty; 
second  Street  to  Thirty-ninth  Street. 

No.  6.     Forty-eighth  Avenue  to  Harlem   Avenue,  Twenty 
second  Street  to  Thirty-ninth  Street. 

The  road  work  was  very  important  as  Cicero  lay  directly  \\ 
the  travel  route  between  Chicago  and  the  interior  of  Illinois; 
As  early  as  1857.  the  sum  of  $2,200  was  appropriated  for  inf 
provements  to  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  now  Lake  Street.  Th] 
names  of  others  of  these  early  thorough  fares  are  Barry  Pom 
Road,  Whiskey  Point  Road  (now  Grand  Avenue),  and  the  South 
west  Plank  Road  (now  Ogden  A  venue.  V  The  road  developmen 
and.  very  soon,  drainage,  were  closely  related  to  the  increase  o 
population,  which  steadily  advanced  from  the  handful  in  1857  t< 
over  3,000  in  1867. 

Now  the  far  reaching  Civil  War  left  its  trace  on  our  com 
munity,  for  on  February  4,  1865,  a  bounty  tax  was  levied  an< 
$3,141.50  was  paid  in  bounties  to  volunteers.    At  a  regular  meet 


HISTORY 


Ing  of  the  town  officers  on  November  7,  1865,  Melton  C.  Niles 
md  James  W.  Scoville  were  each  voted  $100.00  for  "their  ser- 
vices in  assisting  the  town  out  of  the  draft." 
£>lAt  this  time  the  leading  spirit  in  Cicero's  affairs  was  John 
McCafTery,  living  in  the  southeast  portion  of  the  district — a  vil- 
age  called  Brighton.  He  brought  pressure  to  bear  on  the  State 
Legislature,  which  on  February  28,  1867,  passed  an  act  to  incor- 
porate the  Town  of  Cicero.  Thus  it  was  changed  from  a  gov- 
ernmental town  to  an  incorporated  town  with  a  special  charter 
Almost  immediately  amendments  were  agitated  and  the  charter 
gas  revised  by  act  of  the  State  Legislature  on  March  25,  1869. 
1  is  this  charter  which  directs  our  local  government  to-day;  in 
general,  it  is  an  excellent  one,  very  liberal  in  its  provisions  for 
elf-government,  and  very  strict  in  its  clauses  against  exhorbi- 
:ant  taxation.  No  other  town  in  the  state  possesses  a  similar 
me. 

Guided  by  the  charter  government  Cicero  maintained  a  defi- 
lite  system  of  improvement,  especially  highways  and  drainage. 
Fhe  following  figures  show  the  increase  in  roadway  expenditures 
Detween  1869  and  1873 : 

Riverside  Parkway  (22nd  St.) $283,066.72 

Hyman  Avenue  (48th  St.) 29,984.11 

Ogden  Avenue 60,867.93 

Austin  Avenue 30,073.57 

These  sums  were  covered  by  bonds  and  paid  by  the  special 
assessment  method.  At  the  same  time  the  town  planned  and 
:ompleted  a  drainage  system.  The  drains  ran  north  and  south, 
Placed,  at  first,  at  every  section  and  then  at  every  half-section. 
Each  ditch  was  twelve  feet  wide  at  the  top,  two  feet  wide  at  the 
Dottom,  and  four  feet  deep.  The  ditch  was  dug  at  the  west  side 
bf  the  street  and  the  excavated  earth  was  used  for  road  grading. 
Each  was  a  miniature  stream  with  aquatic  vegetation,  frogs, 
fish,  and  "mud-puppies."  All  emptied  into  the  then  infamous 
iVfud  Lake. 

The  meetings  of  the  town  officials  were  usually  held  at  Four  • 
iVIile  House  on  Lake  Street,  near  Fortieth  Street,  sometimes  at 
private  houses,  and  occasionally  at  the  Northwestern  Railway 
station  in  Austin.  In  1871  a  town-hall  with  its  public  square 
was  built  in  Austin.    The  early  records  show  the  regular  trans 


Cicero  an 
Incorporated 
Town— 1867 


Highways 

and 

Drainage 


Business  at 

Town 

Meetings 


8  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

actions  of  ordinary  town  affairs— elections,  taxes,  road  improv 
ments,  drainage,  bridges,  land  divisions,  licenses,  and  annex 
tions  and  secessions,  the  last  two  a  burden  for  years  to  com 

These  annexations  to  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  secessio 
of  Oak  Park  and  Berwyn  from  Cicero  have  left  the  town  as  it  i 
to-day,  and  they  must  be  given  in  detail  in  order  to  understand 
its  history. 

First   Annexation — On   February   27,    1869,    about   a    month  ; 
before  the  state  legislature  revised  the  charter  of  Cicero,  an  aci 
provided  that  the  territorial  limits  of  Chicago  "shall  be  and  are 
hereby  extended  as  follows:  Sections  1,  2,  11,  12,  13,  14,  23.  24,  j 
25,  26,  and  that  part  of  Sections  35  and  36  lying  northwest  of  the  j 
center  line  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  all  in  Township 
39  North,  Range  13  East,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  added  to  the  | 
City  of  Chicago."    This  territory  was  bounded  as  follows :  On 
the  east  by  Western  Avenue,  on  the  north  by  North  Avenue,  on  J 
the  west  by  Fortieth  Avenue,  and  on  the  south  by  the  center  line  j 
of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.    The  foregoing  was  a  part  of 
the  fourth  extension  of  the  city  limits  of  Chicago.     The  town.; 
board  of  Cicero  fought  in  vain  against  the  annexation. 

Second  Annexation — After  a  long  struggle,  dating  from  Nol, 
vember  17,  1887,  the  act  of  April  29,  1889,  provided  that  "tha^ 
part  of  Sections  35  and  36  lying  southeasterly  of  the  center  line 
of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  in  Township  39  North,  Range 
13  East;  also  Sections  3,  10,  15,  and  the  last  three-quarters  of; 
Sections  22,  27,  and  34,  lying  northwest  of  the  center  line  of  the, 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  declared; 
to  be  annexed  to  the  incorporated  City  of  Chicago."    The  bound-', 
aries  of  the  parts  taken  by  this  act  were  as  follows :  The  trian- 
gular piece  bounded  on  the  east  by  Western  Avenue,  on  the' 
south  by  Thirty-ninth  Street,  and  on  the  northeast  by  the  center 
line  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal ;  also  that  strip  bounded 
by  a  line  commencing  at  the  intersection  of  West  Fortieth  Ave- 
nue and  North  Avenue,  running  thence  westerly  on  North  Ave- 
nue to  the  center  line  of  Forty-eighth  Avenue,  thence  south  ol 
the  center  line  of  Forty-eighth  Avenue  to  the  center  line  of 
Twelfth  Street  to  the  center  line  of  West  Forty-sixth    Avenue 
to  Thirty-ninth  Street :  thence  easterly  to  West  Fortieth  Avenue, 
thence  north  on  the  center  line  of  Wesl  Fortieth  Avenue  to  the 


PLATE 

II 

T3 

T3 

CO 

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Sh 
CD 
O 

o 

o 

o 

•n 

Si 

si 

si 

,fl 

T3 

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+3 

-M 

-M 

G 

-M 

CM 

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CO 

00 

o 

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^ 

t> 

CO 

O 

^ 

«tf 

co 

CM 

North 


Chicago 


Madison 


Roosevelt 


22nd 


31st 

Illinois  and  Michi- 
gan Canal 


39th 


Chart    Showing   Original  Township   of  Cicero   with  Subse- 
quent Territorial  Losses— 1849-1901. 

1.  Annexation  to  Chicago,  Act  of  Legislature,  Feb.  27, 1869. 

2.  Annexation  to  Chicago,  Resolution  of  Cook  County 
Commissioners,  April  29,  1889. 

3.  Annexation  to  Chicago,  Election,  June  29,  1889. 

4.  Annexation  to  Chicago,  Election,  A  pril  4,  899. 

5.  Secession  of  Oak  Park,  Election,  Nov.  5,  1901. 

6.  Secession  of  Berwyn,  Election,  Nov.  5,  1901. 


ES3 
WM 


^ 


7.     Cession  of  Hawthorne    Race   Track  to    Stickney,    Town 
Ordinance,  Nov.  26,  1900. 

Present  Town  of  Cicero. 


HISTORY  9 

place  of  beginning.     The  foregoing  formed  a  part  of  the  sixth 
extension  of  the  city  limits  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

Third  Annexation — On  July  15,  1889,  an  order  was  filed  in 
the  County  Court  of  Cook  County  declaring  the  result  of  a  spe- 
cial election  held  June  29,  1889,  by  which  the  following  territory 
was  annexed  to  the  City  of  Chicago  :  The  eastern  half  of  Sections 
4  and  9,  the  boundaries  of  which  were  Forty-eighth  Avenue  on 
the  east,  North  Avenue  on  the  north,  Robinson  Avenue  (52nd) 
on  the  west,  and  Madison  Street  on  the  south. 

Fourth  Annexation — On  the  fourth  of  April,  1899,  at  the  reg- 
ular municipal  election  held  in  the  Town  of  Cicero,  and  in  the 
City  of  Chicago,  the  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  people  to 
annex  to  the  City  of  Chicago  a  portion  of  the  Town  of  Cicero 
The  proposition  was  carried  and  the  following  territory  became 
a  part  of  Chicago :  Section  16,  the  western  half  of  Sections  4  and 
9,  and  the  eastern  half  of  Sections  5,  8,  and  17.  The  boundaries 
were  Forty-eighth  Avenue  from  Twelfth  Street  to  Madison 
Street  and  Fifty-second  Avenue  from  Madison  Street  to  North 
Avenue,  on  the  east;  Madison  Street  from  Forty-eighth  Ave- 
nue to  Fifty-second  Avenue,  and  North  Avenue  from  Fifty-sec- 
ond Avenue  to  Sixtieth  Avenue  (Austin  Avenue),  on  the  north; 
Sixtieth  Avenue  on  the  west ;  and  Twelfth  Street  on  the  south. 

Secession  of  Oak  Park  and  Berwyn — On  November  5,  1901, 
an  election  was  held  in  the  Town  of  Cicero  for  the  purpose  of 
permitting  Oak  Park  and  Berwyn  to  separate  from  the  Town 
of  Cicero  and  form  independent  villages.  Accordingly  all  that 
territory  lying  between  Austin  Avenue  (60th),  North  Avenue, 
Harlem  Avenue  (72nd),  and  Twelfth  Street,  became  the  Village, 
of  Oak  Park.  This  comprised  the  western  half  of  Sections  5,  8^ 
and  17,  and  Sections  6,  7,  and  18.  The  territory  lying  between 
Lombard  Avenue  (62nd),  Twelfth  Street,  Harlem  Avenue 
(72nd),  and  Thirty-ninth  Street,  became  the  City  of  Berwyn. 
This  comprises  the  western  quarter  of  Sections  20,  29,  and  32, 
and  Sections  19,  30.  and  31. 

Hawthorne  Race  Track— According  to  an  ordinance  of  the 
Town  of  Cicero,  recorded  November  26,  1900,  the  southeast 
quarter  of  Section  33  was  ceded  to  the  Town  of  Stickney. 

These  successive  losses  of  land  have  left  Cicero  with  its  pres- 
ent boundaries.  During  this  long  period  the  town  had  increased 


10 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


P.  B.  Weare, 
Pioneer  and 
Trader 


Origin  of 
Morton   Park 


in  population,  with  a  peculiar  system  of  growth.  Similar  to  Oak 
Park  and  Austin  small  communities™ groups  of  three  or  four 
houses — appeared  in  widely  divergent  sections.  The  oldest 
community  was  Clyde,  a  name  bestowed  by  a  Scotchman,  Clark, 
who  lived  in  Chicago  and  had  invested  in  this  western  land.  Then 
came  Hawthorne  to  the  east,  with  its  quarries  of  limestone,  and 
Morton  Park,  along  the  route  of  the  Burlington  railroad;  and 
later  Grant  Works,  so  named  on  account  of  the  Grant  Locomo- 
tive works ;  Drexel,  and  Warren  Park,  the  latter  receiving  its 
name  from  Andrew  Warren,  a  land  owner. 

The  existence  of  one  of  these — Morton  Park— the  "hub"  of 
the  town,  was  due  to  the  sentiment  of  one  man;  its  story  con- 
trasts strangeh'  with  the  usual  businesslike  account  of  a  sub- 
division. 

The  one  man  was  Portus  Baxter  Weare,  pioneer  Indian 
trader,  and  commission  merchant,  widely  known  and  counting 
among  his  intimate  friends  many  of  the  important  men  of  the 
early  days  in  Iowa,  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas,  and  Illinois.  He  had 
that  adventurous  spirit  which  drove  him  west  from  Connecticut 
to  engage  in  the  fur  trade ;  and  he  possessed  the  keen  business 
ability  which  is  typical  of  the  growth  of  Chicago  and  the  Middle 
West. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago  fire  the  Weare  Commission 
Company  with  P.  B.  Weare  at  its  head  was  an  active  firm  doing 
business  on  South  Water  Street  in  Chicago.  They  dealt  in  furs, 
pelts,  and  in  all  kinds  of  food,  especially  game,  prairie  chickens, 
and  geese,  which  were  shipped  by  the  thousands ;  there  were  no 
restrictions  then,  for  no  one  ever  dreamed  that  the  prairie  supply 
would  ever  be  exhausted. 

A  few  years  after  the  great  fire,  however,  the  game  trade  did 
diminish ;  but  a  steadily,  rapidly  growing-  grain  trade  replaced 
it,  and  presently  the  Weare  Commission  Company  had  new  offi- 
ces at  226  LaSalle  Street  near  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade.  P. 
B.  Weare  became  one  of  the  shrewdest  and  most  fearless  traders 
in  the  grain  business. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Weare  realized  that  West  Adams  Street 
where  he  had  resided  for  years  was  becoming  congested;  and 
with  customary  independence  he  began  to  look  around  for  a 
place  to  live  where  he  could  breathe  comfortably.     He  wished 


HISTORY 


I] 


to  have  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  sunrise  and  sunset;  he  de- 
lighted in  the  violets,  phlox,  asters,  and  golden  rod  of  the  prai- 
rie. So  with  prompt  decision  he  opened  a  sub-division  and  Mor 
ton  Park  had  its  beginning.  It  was  named  for  an  old  Nebraska 
friend,  J.  Sterling  Morton,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  in  the 
cabinet  of  President  Grover  Cleveland,  and  the  founder  of  Arbor 
Day  (for  the  curious,  Mr.  Morton's  first  name  is  Julius).  Here 
in  the  center  of  a  quarter  block  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Fifty- 
second  Avenue  and  Twenty-fifth  Street,  Mr.  Weare  built  a  beau 
tiful,  tastily-furnished  house  that  became  a  home  not  only  for 
the  owner  but  also  for  his  many  friends.  Gradually,  too,  it  de- 
veloped into  a  little  social  center  for  the  neighbors  who  followed 
his  first  steps  to  Morton  Park. 

With  these  scattered  communities  as  centers  Cicero  increased 
its  population,  slowly  at  first,  but  with  the  rapid  development  of 
Chicago,  with  the  improved  facilities  for  transportation — the 
Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad,  the  car  line  to  Lyons, 
the  car  line  to  Riverside  and  LaGrange,  the  extension  of  the 
Metropolitan  Elevated  road  and  the  corresponding  extension  of 
the  Chicago  surface  lines  from  Chicago  Avenue  and  Ogden  Ave- 
nue— and  with  the  location  of  manufacturing  industries,  es- 
pecially the  Western  Electric  Company,  the  town  swiftly  jumped 
to  a  prominent  position  among  the  industrial  cities  of  Illinois. 
The  boundaries  of  the  several  communities  have  expanded  until 
they  have  met,  changing  Cicero  from  a  town  of  several  towns 
to  one  solid  community. 

As  the  growth  of  Cicero  has  depended  and  still  depends  to 
a  great  extent  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad 
with  its  transportation  facilities,  it  is  fitting  to  give,  in  conclu- 
sion, a  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  road,  closely  connected 
as  it  is  with  American  history. 

Iowa  had  entered  the  Union  in  1846,  the  first  free  state  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase.  The  pioneers  of  that  state  of  Louisiana 
were  immediately  followed  by  thousands  of  a  fine  type  of  Euro- 
pean immigrants,  especially  the  Germans  who  left  Germany  dur- 
ing the  Revolution  of  1848.  in  search  for  liberty ;  and  they  found 
it  in  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  and  Illinois.  By  1849  Texas 
and  California  had  been  added  to  United  States  territory,  as  a 
result  of  conquest  in  the  Mexican  War.     Then  like  lightning 


Development 
of  Cicero 


Chicago 

Burlington 

and 

Quincy  R.  R. 


12 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


The 

Special 

Charters 


The  Meeting 

in 

Boston 


came  the  cry  of  "Gold"  from  California.  These  historic  events 
created  a  demand  for  transportation,  a  demand  that  brought 
the  "Burlington,"  the  road  which  passes  through  Cicero. 

Briefly,  the  facts  are  these  :  At  that  time  railroads  were  built 
under  special  state  charters,  and  a  large  number  of  them  was 
granted  at  every  session  of  the  legislature,  for  the  people  de- 
manded railroads.  On  February  12,  1849,  three  special  charters 
were  granted  by  the  Illinois  State  Legislature : 

I.     Aurora — "Aurora    Branch."   to   be    built   twelve    miles 
north  to  Turner  Junction. 
II.     Peoria — "Peoria  and  Oquawka,"  to  be  built  from  Peoria 

to  Oquawka. 
[II.     Quincy — "Northern   Cross."   to   be   built   northeast   to- 
wards Galesburg. 
These  railroads,  so  tar  on  paper  only,  were  financed  locally. 
The  "Aurora   Branch"  people   managed  by   1850  to  build  their 
twelve  miles  of  road  to  Turner  Junction  (West  Chicago).    This 
was  "the  small  seed  out  of  which  the  C.  B.  &  Q.  finally  grew." 
At  Turner  Junction  it  connected  with  the  Galena  road,  now  the 
Northwestern,  and  handled  its  traffic  over  that  line,  thirty  mile? 
in  length,  to  the  Kinzie  Street  terminals,  until  the  building  of  the 
St.  Charles  Air  Line  in  1855. 

The  Peoria  people  raised  enough  money  to  build  14  miles  of 
road  westward  to  Edward's  Siding,  having  planned  their  route 
through  Farmington.  This  troubled  the  people  of  Galesburg, 
who  wanted  a  railroad;  so  they  obtained  a  charter  of  their  own 
in  1851,  which  they  called  "Central  Military  Tract,"  authorizing 
them  to  build  northeasterly  toward  any  connecting  line  with 
Chicago.  Shortly  after  this  Chauncey  S.  Cotton  of  Galesburg, 
Mr.  Wadsworth  of  Aurora,  both  merchants  and  both  actively 
interested  in  railroads,  and  James  W.  Grimes,  a  progressive 
lawyer  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  met  in  Boston,  where  all  were 
transacting  business.  They  .agreed  upon  a  plan  to  persuade  the 
directors  of  the  Michigan  Central — Forbes,  Brooks,  Joy,  and 
their  associates — to  finance  a  railroad  from  Burlington  to  Chi- 
cago via  Galesburg;  and  that  plan  was  successful. 

Meanwhile,  in  June,  1852,  the  "Aurora  Branch"  charter  was 
amended  to  provide  for  a  line  southwest  to  Mendota,  the  nam* 


PLATE  III 


West    Chicago         (North*, 
(Turner's  Junction) 


CAGO 


Aurora 
P7^enctota 


£/ 


Burlington    J — ~"* 


Oouawka   ** 


o  r^eoria 


Jo  Chutney 


Origin  and  Development  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy 
R.  R.  in  Northern  Illinois. 

(1)  Aurora  Branch,  1850; 

(2)  Chicago  &  Aurora,  1853;  Consolidated,  1856,  Chicago, 

(3)  Central  Military  Tract,  1854;        Burlington  &  Quincy. 

(4)  Peoria  &  Oquawka,  1855; 

(5)     Main  Line  C.  B.  &  Q.,  direct  to  Chicago  via  Naperville, 
1864. 


HISTORY 


13 


was  changed  to  "Chicago  and  Aurora/'  and  the  road  was  built 
before  the  close  of  1853. 

With  the  backing  of  the  Michigan  Central  interests,  the  "Cen-. 
tral  Military  Tract"  road  began  work  in  1852,  and  completed 
the  link  between  Galesburg  and  Mendota  in  1854;  at  the  same 
time  these  financial  interests  aided  the  construction  of  the  "Pe- 
oria and  Oquawka"  from  Galesburg  west  to  the  Mississippi 
river  opposite  Burlington,  completing  the  work  in  March,  1855. 
The  name  of  the  connecting  line,  "Chicago  and  Aurora,"  was 
now  changed  to  "Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy,"  a  title  that 
has  been  popularly  abbreviated  to  "The  Burlington."  The  fol- 
lowing year,  1856,  the  "Central  Military  Tract"  was  consolidated 
with  the  Aurora  company  under  the  name  "Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy." 

By  this  time  the  Chicago  terminals  of  the  Galena  road  had  be- 
come inadequate;  accordingly  in  1855  the  St.  Charles  Air  Line 
was  built  jointly  with  three  other  roads,  which  enabled  the  C. 
B.  &  Q.  to  have  a  direct  connection  with  the  Michigan  Central 
and  better  terminals  at  the  foot  of  Randolph  Street.  Later  the 
Burlington  interests  completed  the  "Northern  Cross'  from 
Quincy  to  Galesburg;  they  finished  the  "Peoria  and  Oquawka" 
from  Galesburg  east  to  Peoria ;  and  they  came  to  the  relief  of 
the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joe  Company  and  of  the  Burlington  and 
Missouri  River  Company,  the  former  connecting  Hannibal  with 
St.  Joseph  in  Missouri  and  the  latter  connecting  Burlington  with 
Ottumwa  in  Iowa. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  the  road  was  in  operation 
from  Chicago  to  East  Burlington,  and  from  Galesburg  south 
to  Quincy,  and  east  to  Peoria,  with  close  connections  at  Chicago 
for  the  Michigan  Central,  at  Burlington  with  the  Iowa  road,  and 
at  Quincy  with  the  Hannibal  line  across  the  State  of  Missouri. 
There  was  no  further  construction  during  the  war  except  that 
in  1864  the  line  was  built  from  Aurora  direct  into  Chicago  via 
Naperville  and  through  Cicero.  The  road  was  an  established  suc- 
cess. Its  later  developments  in  construction,  operations,  and 
mergers  have  made  it  a  famous  system  with  nine  thousand 
miles  of  road  in  twelve  different  states,  a  system  that  carried 
twenty-three  million  passengers  in  1920. 


The 

"Burlington* 


C.  B.  and  Q. 

in 

Cicero,  1864 


Cicero 
and  the 
Great  West 


14  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

Let  it  be  said,  finally,  that  the  Town  of  Cicero  has  underneath 
its  thriving  modern  life  a  real  history.  On  this  territory  the  life 
of  the  American  Indian,  the  hardships  of  the  pioneer,  the  strug- 
gles of  the  early  settler,  the  skill  of  the  mechanic,  the  energy 
of  the  business  man,  the  projects  of  the  railroad  engineer— all 
present  in  miniature  a  picture  of  the  development  of  the  great 
Middle  West.  May  this  idea  stir  the  imagination  and  arouse 
the  patriotism  of  its  boys  and  girls,  its  men  and  women. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  Making  of  the  Burlington — W.  W.  Baldwin. 

Discovery  and  Conquest  of  the  Northwest— Blanchard. 

Actual  Government  in  Illinois— Childs. 

Personal  Reminiscences  of  Pioneer  Life— Elizabeth  Porter 
Furbeck. 

Reminiscences  of  Early  Chicago— E.  O.  Gale. 

The  Government  of  Illinois—Greene. 

Halley's  Pictorial  Oak  Park. 

Chapters  of  Oak  Park  History— John  Lewis. 

Early  Days  of  Peoria  and  Chicago— McCulloch. 

Historic  Illinois— Parrish. 

In  Memoriam — James  W.  Scoville. 

Father  Marquette— Thwaites. 

Charter  and  Revised  Ordinances  of  Town  of  Cicero,  1897. 

Chicago  City  Manual — Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Municipal 
Library. 

Cicero  Town  Records. 

Maps  of  Chicago  Bureau  of  Maps. 

Municipal  Code  of  Town  of  Cicero,  1917. 

Records  of  Department  of  Public  Works  of  Chicago. 

Reports  of  Town  of  Cicero,  1869-1889. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  CICERO 


PART  II 

The  town  of  Cicero  is  located  on  the  level  prairie  land,  adja- 
cent to  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  and  seven  miles  distant 
from  the  "Loop/'  the  center  of  the  business  district  of  that  city. 
The  town  within  its  area  of  five  and  one-half  square  miles  pos- 
sesses the  fundamental  advantages  necessary  to  the  growth  of 
a  modern  city;  namely,  homes,  business  houses,  manufacturing 
plants. 

The  greatest  advantage,  the  foundation  of  a  city  and  state 
and  nation,  is  the  home ;  and  Cicero  is  primarily  a  "home  town." 
Land  at  a  reasonable  price ;  building  material  at  hand ;  skilled 
labor  in  the  community;  an  efficient  local  government;  schools, 
churches,  roads,  sewers,  water,  gas,  electricity  for  light  and 
power,  and  in  progress  a  public  library  and  a  park-playground 
system — then,  indeed,  the  newcomer  says,  "I  will  build  here." 

The  population  has  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds  until  it 
reached  the  United  States  census  figures  of  44,995  on  January 
first,  1920.  Of  this  number  approximately  92%  are  foreign-born 
or  of  foreign  parentage ;  the  nationalities  represent  almost  every 
country  in  Europe  and  the  Near  East,  with  the  Bohemians  lead- 
ing, approximately  35%,  and  the  Polish  ranking  second  with 
about  17%  of  the  population.  Then  come  Slavs,  Hungarians,  Rus- 
sians, Lithuanians,  Germans,  Italians,  Greeks,  Spaniards,  Irish, 
Scotch,  English,  Scandinavians,  and  still  others  from  Europe,  and 
Mexicans  from  Central  America.  As  regards  the  character  of  the 
inhabitants,  these  four  traits  predominate:  Patriotism,  love  of 
home,  thrift,  and  a  firm  determination  to  educate  their  children. 
Enlistment  of  men  and  the  co-operation  of  both  men  and  women 
in  the  war  activities  of  1917-1920  fully  prove  the  patriotism ; 
neatly-kept  houses  with  lawns  and  shrubbery  testify  to  the 
homes ;  postal  savings  and  local  savings-bank  accounts  afford 
evidence  of  thrift ;  and  silent,  untold  sacrifices  to  keep  the  child- 
ren in  school  show  a  fierce  desire  for  an  American  education. 

Each  of  the  various  localities  of  the  town :  Hawthorne,  Mor- 
ton Park,  Drexel,  Clyde,  Grant  Works,  and  Warren  Park,  has 
its  grammar  schools,  with  a  total  number  of  fourteen,  all  now 
under  a  unified  organization  in  one  district,  Number  99.    These 


A 

Home 
Town 


Diversity 

of 

Nationalities 


School* 


16 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


grammar  schools  are  the  sources  from  which  the  well  equipped 
township  high  school,  J.  Sterling  Morton,  draws  its  enrollment. 
Throughout  the  town  the  religious  organizations  have  their 
churches  and  missions,  seventeen  of  them,  of  the  following  de- 
nominations : 

Polish  Catholic  Congregational 

Lithuanian  Catholic  St.  Mary's,  Episcopal- 
Irish  Catholic  English  Lutheran 
Bohemian  Catholic     Presbyterian  (two) 
English  Catholic         Baptist 
German  Lutheran       Baptist  Mission 
Methodist  (two)         Kvangelical  Lutheran 
Swedish  Lutheran 
Cicero  has  the  essentials  of  the  nation :  Home  and  church. 
Each  citizen  has  a  right  to  be  proud  of  the  streets  of  the 
town.    Since  1849,  the  date  of  the  organization  of  a  town  gov- 
ernment, there  has  been  a  steady,  systematic   series  of  road 
improvements,  rendered  necessary  to  keep  pace  with  the  growth 
of  traffic.    At  present  there  are  approximately  fifty-six  miles  of 
improved  roads  built  of  the  following  kinds  of  material : 

Macadam    19       miles 

Asphalt 21      miles 

(Two  miles  are  boulevards) 

Brick 13J4  miles 

Granite  block  Vz  mile 

Concrete 2      miles 

Total 56      miles 

it  is  significant  that  presently  about  $200,000.00  will  be  ex- 
pended for  roads  and  other  improvements.  Of  similar  import- 
ance, too,  is  the  beginning  of  a  paved  alley  system,  which  means 
that  the  rear  as  well  as  the  front  of  the  house  is  worthy  of  at- 
tention. 

Not  as  prominent  to  the  eye  but  vitally  necessary  to  the 
health  of  each  individual  is  the  sewage  system.  As  stated  be- 
fore in  the  history  of  Cicero,  this  section  was  in  the  early  days 
a  very  damp  locality,  so  damp  that  frequently  it  was  entirely 
under  water.  Mr.  John  Mongrieg  of  Clyde  used  to  row  a  boat 
from  Clyde  to  Hawthorne  in  order  to  get  to  work ;  Mr.  Robert 


ADVANTAGES 


17 


Muir  of  the  same  locality  regularly  kept  rubber  hip  boots  in  the 
Clyde  station  so  that  he  could  reach  his  home  at  night.  Excel- 
lent duck  hunting  grounds  were  in  the  swamp  at  Fifty-sixth 
Avenue  and  Twenty-fifth  Street.  The  first  attempts  at  drain- 
age were  the  open  ditches  at  section  and  half-section  lines.  In 
1893,  however,  a  box  sewer  of  wood  was  constructed  under- 
ground along  Fifty-second  Avenue.  Yet,  during  its  con- 
struction the  open  ditch  on  Twenty-second  Street  became 
blocked  and  a  historic  Hood  occurred.  The  entire  prairie  west 
or  Fifty-second  Avenue  was  under  water,  and  the  avenue  itself 
was  a  raging  torrent. 

This  box  sewer  together  with  similar  ones  at  Ridgeland 
Avenue,  Oak  Park  Avenue,  and  Harlem  Avenue  materially  im- 
proved conditions.  Then  in  1912  the  increased  population  neces- 
sitated the  modern  drainage  and  a  huge  brick  sewer  was  built 
under  Fifty-second  Avenue,  connecting  Chicago  and  Cicero 
sewer  mains  with  the  Drainage  Canal.  This  sewer  is  seven  feet 
in  diameter  north  of  Twenty-sixth  Street  and  seven  and  one- 
half  feet  in  diameter  south  of  Twenty-sixth  Street.  Its  cost 
was  met  jointly  by  Cicero  (town)  and  the  Sanitary  District  for 
that  part  of  the  main  lying  south  of  Twenty-second  Street,  while 
the  City  of  Chicago  paid  for  the  extension  north  of  Twenty-sec- 
ond Street  to  the  city  limits  at  Twelfth  Street.  There  is  also 
a  drainage  line  called  the  "intercepting  sewer"  constructed  at 
Oak  Park  Avenue  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  running  par- 
allel with  the  railroad  to  Fifty-sixth  Avenue,  thence  south  on 
Fifty-sixth  Avenue  to  Thirty-ninth  Street,  thence  east  to  the 
Fifty-second  Avenue  brick  sewer.  By  this  system  of  mains  and 
sub-mains  all  that  territory  is  successfully  drained  which  lies 
between  Forty-sixth  Avenue  and  Harlem  Avenue,  and  also  a 
section  of  the  west  side  of  Chicago. 

For  water  supply  Cicero  goes  to  Chicago.  Previously,  in 
the  days  of  sparse  settlement,  there  were  individual  wells, 
while  later  a  private  company  furnished  water  from  its  artesian 
well  for  the  territory  north  of  Twelfth  Street.  In  1890  Cicero 
dug  its  own  well  (artesian)  and  constructed  a  pumping  station, 
the  one  now  located  in  Berwyn,  at  that  time,  of  course,  a  part 
if  Cicero.  Then  improvements  were  paid  by  special  assess- 
ments and  a  water  rate.    Again  and  very  soon  a  modern  system 


Water 
from 
Lake 
Michigan 


18 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Public 
Library 


Parks 

and 

Playgrounds 


Inter-relation 
of  Homes, 
Business, 
Industry 


was  necessitated  by  increasing  population  and  for  fire  protec- 
tion, with  the  result  that  in  1895  the  Cicero  mains  were  con- 
nected with  the  Chicago  mains  at  Twenty-sixth  Street  and  the 
pumping  station  was  built  near  the  town  hall.  Now  there  are 
two  other  main  connections  on  Twelfth  Street  with  the  city 
mains ;  and  there  are  three  electric  automatic  pumps  to  equal- 
ize the  pressure. 

The  household  conveniences  of  gas  and  electricity  for  both 
light  and  power  are  efficiently  and  reasonably  supplied  by  the 
Public  Service  Company  of  Northern  Illinois. 

Concluding  the  list  of  civic  attractions  to  home-builders  are 
the  public  library  and  the  park-playground  system.  The  library 
emerged  from  a  vision  to  a  reality  in  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1920  when  some  public-spirited  citizens  strongly  backed  by  Ci- 
cero's civic  organizations,  the  grammar  schools,  and  the  high 
school,  secured  a  tremendous  majority  at  the  polls  on  election 
day  in  favor  of  a  bond  issue  for  the  library.  The  initial  sums  of 
money  are  now  available  and  the  library  board  of  nine  members 
elected  on  April  fifth,  1921,  are  energetically  performing  their 
supervisory  duties  of  planning  and  constructing  the  library,  and 
putting  it  into  operation. 

At  this  same  time,  too,  the  people  are  planning  with  vision 
and  skill  a  comprehensive  park  and  playground  system  for  the 
entire  community.  It  is  of  interest  to  relate  that  Cicero's  only 
park  district,  that  in  Clyde,  was  established  in  1907.  In  that 
year  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  granted  a 
five-acre  tract  of  land  to  the  Town  of  Clyde,  which  then  organ- 
ized a  park  district  in  order  to  have  legal  taxing  power  for  main- 
tenance of  the  park.  The  district  includes  the  territory  between 
Sixteenth  and  Thirty-ninth  Streets  and  Fifty-sixth  and  Sixty- 
second  Avenues.  The  district  affairs  are  conducted  by  a  board 
composed  of  five  members,  elected  for  a  term  of  five  years. 

Other  civic  improvements  now  under  consideration  are  a 
hospital  in  the  town  itself ;  although  St.  Anthony's,  Cook  County,. 
Oak  Park,  West  Suburban,  and  Berwyn  hospitals  are  within 
reach ;  an  up-to-date  hotel ;  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
building ;  and  a  Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  building. 

In  Cicero  the  close  inter-relation  between  homes  and  business 
and  manufactures  is  perfectly  illustrated ;  the  home  demands 


ADVANTAGES  19 

material  from  business  and  supplies  labor  to  manufactures ;  bus- 
iness supplies  the  home  with  its  materials  and  demands  those 
materials  from  manufactures ;  manufactures  supply  business 
with  its  materials  and  demand  labor  from  the  home.  The  result- 
ing- inter-relation  is  a  triangle.  The  parts  of  that  triangle,  how- 
ever, must  be  properly  adjusted  to  each  other;  such  an  adjust- 
ment means  a  division  of  the  community  into  zones  or  districts 
in  order  that  each  of  the  three  elements  may  exist  and  develop 
without  detriment  to  the  others.  In  general  such  a  system  is 
already  present :  the  industries,  heavy  and  light,  are  grouped 
along  the  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy  Railroad  to  the  south ; 
along  the  Chicago  and  Eastern  Illinois  Railway  (Inner  Belt)  to 
the  east ;  and  along  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  to  the  north. 
The  commercial  houses,  numerous  and  prosperous,  extend  chiefly 
along  Twelfth  Street,  Twenty-second  Street,  and  Twenty-fifth 
Street,  with  other  minor  districts  on  Forty-eighth  Avenue,  Fifty- 
second  Avenue,  and  Twenty-sixth  Street.  The  residential  sec- 
tions are  grouped  in  six  communities  and  are  fairly  well  sepa- 
rated from  the  other  two  classes  of  districts.  It  is  well,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  provide  for  the  future ;  and  so  it  is  probable  that 
a  zoning  ordinance  will  be  worked  out,  in  accordance  with  the 
state  legislative  zoning  act  of  1919. 

The  kinds  of  manufactures  are  numerous,  also,  and  varied,      Manufacturing 
covering  almost  everything  "under  the  sun."    In  size  some  are     p,ant8 
small  with  a  list  of  five  to  ten  employees,  while  the  Western 
Electric  Company  has  fifteen  thousand  employees.    An  enume- 
ration of  a  few  of  the  115  factories  and  workshops  follows: 

American  Magnesia  Products  Co. 

LaSalle  Steel  Co. 

American  Spiral  Pipe  Works. 

Conlon  Electric  Washer  Co. 

Chicago  Vitreous  Enamel  Co. 

The  Greenlee  Foundry. 

National    Malleable   Castings   Co. 

Chicago  &  Illinois  Western  R.  R.  Co. 

Western  Overall  Mfg.  Co. 

Gerrard  Wire  Tying  Machine  Co.. 

Hurley  Machine  Co. 

Crown  Stove  Works. 


20 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Transportation : 
Steam  and 
Electric 


Colonial  Fireplace  Co. 

Clapp,  Norstrom,  and  Riley. 

Coonley  Mfg.  Co. 

Steel  Products  Co. 

Fulton  Saw  Works. 

Union  Gasket  &  Mfg;  Co. 

Midland  Terra  Cotta  Co. 

Concrete  Engineering  Co. 

Cicero  Rubber  Co. 

Western  Electric  Co. 

It  is  impossible  to  list  the  companies  dealing  with  coal,  lum- 
ber, automobile  accessories  and  repairs,  the  bakeries,  bottling 
works,  tailor  shops,  and  supply  houses  for  miscellaneous  ma- 
terial. These  names  will  confirm  the  statement  that  Cicero's 
industries  are  varied  and  extensive. 

Everyone  of  these  business  houses  and  manufacturing  plants 
depends  primarily  on  one  factor — transportation.  That  factor 
Cicero  possesses.  Coal  for  power — raw  materials  for  manufac- 
turing— cars  for  shipment  of  finished  products :  all  depend  on 
transportation.  To  these  there  must  be  added  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  men  and  women,  the  human  part  of  a  manufacturing 
plant.  This  transportation  is  furnished  as  follows : 
I.  Railroads — 

A.  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy. 

B.  Illinois  Central. 

C.  Baltimore  and  Ohio   (freight  only ;  terminal  at  56th 

Ave.) 

D.  Manufacturers'    Junction.      (A    separate    corporation 

with  several  miles  of  track  at  25th  Street,  48th  Ave., 
and  Ogden  Ave.) 

E.  Chicago  and  Eastern  Illinois  (Inner  Belt;  connections 

with  all  roads). 
These  mean  that  Cicero  has  the  identical  advantages  of  Chi- 
cago, the  railroad  center  of  the  United  States. 
II.  Electric  Railways — 

A.  Chicago  and  West  Towns  Railway  lines.  The  company 
controls  the  Berwyn-Lyons  line ;  the  LaGrange  line ; 
and  the  Chicago  Avenue  (52nd  Ave.)  line. 


ADVANTAGES 


21 


B.  Chicago  Surface  Lines. 

1.  Ogden-Laramie  (52nd  Ave.) 

2.  Twenty-second  Street. 

3.  Cicero  Avenue  (48th  Ave.) 

4.  Roosevelt  Road  (12th  St.) 

C.  Chicago    Elevated    Lines.      Douglas    Park    branch    of 

the  Metropolitan  Elevated.  This  line  at  present 
has  its  terminal  at  Lombard  Ave.  (62nd  Avenue). 

These  mean  that  Cicero  has  the  three-fold  advantage  of  Chi- 
cago city  surface  and  elevated  line  service ;  interurban  service 
to  other  towns  on  the  west  and  north ;  local  transportation  ser- 
vice. 

It  is  these  systems  of  steam  and  electric  railroads  that  have 
benefited  and  have  perfected  the  harmonious  relation  of  home, 
business,  and  manufactures. 

In  conclusion  there  follows  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the 
most  interesting  as  well  as  the  most  important  manufacturing 
plant  in  Cicero — the  Western  Electric  Company,  with  a  $30,000,- 
000  capital,  and  with  an  annual  volume  of  business  of  $60,000,000. 

The  initial  Hawthorne  plant  was  erected  in  the  year  of  1902, 
and  the  shops  were  in  operation  by  the  early  part  of  1903.  Since 
that  time  building  after  building  has  been  erected  in  accordance 
with  a  definite  plan  of  units  ;  and  this  enlarging  process  will  con- 
tinue because,  before  the  end  of  the  present  year,  1922,  all  the 
New  York  shops  will  have  been  transferred  to  the  Hawthorne 
site. 

To  survey  the  main  events  in  the  life  of  the  Western  Electric 
Company,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  period  following  the 
Civil  War.  In  1869  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
consolidated  its  several  instrument  shops,  an  arrangement  which 
caused  the  abandonment  of  the  shop  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The 
foreman  of  this  shop,  George  W.  Shawk,  bought  part  of  its 
equipment  and,  employing  five  or  six  men,  started  to  produce 
miscellaneous  equipment.  Very  soon  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Mr.  Barton,  then  chief  operator  in  the  Western  Union  of- 
fice at  Rochester,  N.  Y.  After  a  few  months  Shawk  sold  his 
interest  to  Elisha  Gray,  an  inventor.  Gray  had  previously  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  form  a  partnership  with  Shawk,  but  the  lat- 
ter had  refused,  saying  "Gray  would  want  to  put  every  man  in 


Western 
Electric 
Company 


The  Firm 
of  Barton, 
Gray,  and 
Stager 


22  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

the  shop  onto  his  darned  inventions."  Gray  obtained  the  neces- 
sary money  for  the  partnership  by  selling  to  General  Anson 
Stager  his  interest  in  a  patent  for  a  printing  telegraph  instru- 
ment. General  Stager  at  that  time  was  General  Superintendent 
of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company.  He  very  shortly 
became  an  equal  partner  with  Gray  and  Barton,  on  the  condition 
that  the  shop  be  removed  from  Cleveland  to  Chicago.  Each 
partner  contributed  about  $2,500  to  the  capital.  So  near  the 
end  of  the  year  1869  the  firm  had  bought  a  repair  and  model 
shop  from  L.  C.  Springer  in  Chicago,  with  a  location  on  LaSalle 
Street  near  South  Water  Street.  As  the  business  increased, 
especially  in  the  making  of  Morse  instruments,  steam  power  was 
introduced,  and  later  the  shop  was  moved  to  the  corner  of  State 
Street  and  Eldridge  Court. 
Entrance  The  shop  was  extremely  fortunate   in  escaping  destruction 

of  Western        by  the  Chicago  Fire  of  1871  ;  on  the  other  hand  it  received  a 
Union  Co.  powerful  impetus  in  orders  due  to  replacement  and  reconstruc- 

tion. The  following  year,  1872,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company  abandoned  its  instrument  shop  at  Ottawa,  Illinois; 
but  at  the  same  time  the  company  negotiated  with  the  Gray  and 
Barton  firm  to  take  over  the  shop's  business.  In  the  transac- 
tion the  Western  Union  Company  acquired  a  third  of  the  Gray 
and  Barton  stock,  General  Stager  held  a  third,  and  friends  and 
employees  of  the  firm  held  the  remainder;  the  name,  too,  was 
changed  to  read :  The  Western  Electric  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany;  with  a  capital  of  $150,000.  General  Stager  leased  a  site 
on  Kinzie  Street  near  State  Street,  finally  buying  the  building, 
which  then  became  the  Western  Electric  shop. 
New  York  At  the  end  of  seven  years,  1879,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 

s,te  Company  was   so  well  satisfied  with  the  results  of  its  invest- 

ment in  the  Western  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  that  it 
turned  over  to  the  latter  its  New  York  factory  by  leasing  to 
them  the  building  and  machinery  on  New  Church  Street,  New 
York  City.  For  ten  years  this  was  the  Western  Electric's  New 
York  home. 
Telegraph  During  the  above  period  Alexander  Graham   Bell  had  been 

perfecting  the  telephone;  its  first  public  exhibition  was  on  July 
e  ep  one  ^  1876,  at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition.    Then  came 

the    fierce   competition   between    the    Bell   Telephone   Company 


ADVANTAGES 


23 


and  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  the  latter  also 
being  in  the  telephone  business.  The  Western  Electric  Manu- 
facturing- Company,  meanwhile,  was  kept  busy  making  tele- 
phones and  telephonic  equipment  for  the  Western  Union  ex- 
changes. The  fight  of  the  latter  with  its  rival  was  waged  in 
actual  business,  in  the  patent  office,  and  in  the  courts.  The  Bell 
company  had  the  Bell  patents ;  the  Western  Union  Company 
had  the  Edison  patents  and  the  Elisha  Gray  fundamental  patent 
for  the  speaking  telephone.  Finally,  in  November,  1879,  peace 
was  made  on  the  initiative  of  the  Western  Union  because  "while 
it  had  the  more  money,  the  Bell  Company  had  the  better  patent" ; 
and  both  with  a  common  interest  began  a  development  of  ex- 
changes and  lines  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  Western  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  now,  also, 
entered  the  telephone  exchange  business,  securing  licenses  in 
several  of  the  Middle  Western  states,  and  developing  especially 
the  Central  Union,  Iowa,  and  Chicago  Telephone  Companies. 
However,  the  Western  Union  Company,  part  owner  of  the  West- 
ern Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  objected  to  the  latter's 
purchase  of  telephone  exchange  interests ;  and  the  Electric  Com- 
pany, accordingly,  limited  its  activities  to  the  manufacture  of 
telephone  apparatus. 

Presently  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  underwent 
a  change  in  management,  when  the  Vanderbilt  stock  was  ac- 
quired by  Jay  Gould.  As  a  result  General  Stager  left  the  com- 
pany and  devoted  his  time  and  energy  to  the  business  of  initi- 
ating and  extending  telephone  exchange  systems.  In  this  work 
he  frequently  came  into  contact  with  the  officials  of  the  Bell 
Telephone  Company ;  and  then  it  was  but  a  short  step  to  the 
formation  of  a  new  company  called  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany, which  took  over  the  business  of  the  Western  Electric 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  also  the  business  of  the  two  larg- 
est manufacturing  companies  of  the  American  Bell  Telephone 
Company—the  Charles  Williams,  Jr.,  Company,  of  Boston,  and 
the  Gilliland  Company  of  Indianapolis.  The  Bell  Company  pur- 
chased the  stock  owned  by  the  Western  Union  Company,  stock 
which  the  Gould  interests  were  perfectly  willing  to  sell,  and  it 
also  bought  some  of  the  Charles  Williams,  Jr.,  stock,  and  some 
of  the  stock  of  General  Stager,  thus  controlling  a  majority  of 


Limitation 

of 

Activities 


Control  by 
the  Bell 
Telephone 
Company 


24 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Clinton 
Street 


Foreign 
Plants 


the  Western  Electric  Company's  stock.  In  this  way  the  new 
company  became  the  exclusive  manufacturers  for  telephones 
and  later  for  telephone  apparatus  for  the  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany. The  relations  between  the  two  were  agreed  upon  by  Mr 
Vail,  General  Manager  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company,  and 
General  Stager  for  the  Western  Electric  Company. 

The  quarters  on  Kinzie  Street,  Chicago,  were  changed  to  a 
new  building,  erected  in  1883  on  Clinton  Street  near  Van  Buren 
Street.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  the  Clinton  Street  branch  of 
the  company. 

Other  developments  were  the  transfer  of  the  Boston  Charles 
Williams,  jr..  plant  to  New  York  City,  and  in  1889  the  erection 
of  a  new  building  on  Thames  and  Greenwich  Streeti  in  that 
city;  the  transfer  of  the  Gilliland  factory  from  Indianapolis  to 
Chicago;  and  the  establishment  of  a  branch  factory  at  Antwerp, 
Belgium.  During  these  years,  the  80's,  the  capital  was  $1,000.- 
<X)0  and  the  annual  volume  of  business  was  about  $1,000,000. 

The  European  shop  was  a  direct  result  of  the  organization 
of  the  International  Bell  Telephone  Company,  whose  purpose 
was  to  obtain  European  franchises,  and  whose  stock  was  owned 
as  follows :  45%  by  the  International  Bell  Telephone  Company 
and  55%  by  the  Western  Electric  Company.  The  one  Antwerp 
shop  has  now  increased  to  factories  in  Montreal,  London,  Ant 
werp,  Paris,  Berlin,  Vienna,  Milan,  Budapest,  St.  Petersburg, 
and  Tokyo. 

The  steady  increase  in  the  demand  tor  telephonic  apparatus 
exhausted  the  manufacturing  facilities  in  Chicago  so  that  in 
1902  it  was  determined  to  start  a  new  plant  at  Hawthorne, 
where  gradually  all  manufacturing  work  is  being  concentrated 
in  a  marvellous  plant. 

M  he  following  is  a  general  outline  of  the  plan  of  organiza- 
tion  of  the  Western  Electric  Company: 


ADVANTAGES 


25 


Board  of  Directors 

— President 

1.  Twenty  Distributing  Houses 

2.  General  Merchandise 

Department 
1.  General  Sales  Manager     3.  Sales  Manager's  Staff 

(a;  Telephone  Sales 

(b)  Supply  Sales 

(c)  Foreign  Sales 

1.  Telephone  Switchboards  and 

Telegraph  Systems 

2.  Specific  Apparatus  and  Research 

Work 

(a)  Chemistry 

(b)  Physics 

(c)  Telephone  Exchange 

(d)  Transmission 

(e)  Circuits 

(f)  Apparatus  Models 

3.  General  Purchasing  Agent 

4.  General  Superintendent  of  Manfg.  Plant  (Hawthorne  Plant) 

1.  Accounting 

2.  Auditing 

1.  Collections 

2.  Credits 

3.  Insurance 


Plan  of 
Organisation 


2.  Chief  Engineer 


5.  Comptroller 


6.  Treasurer 


7.  General  Manager  for  Europe 

8.  Vice-President  and  General  Counsel 


PLATE  IV 


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PART  III 


GOVERNMENT  OF  CICERO 
CHAPTER  I 

The  town  of  Cicero  is  governed  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  a  charter  granted  to  the  people  of  the  town  by  the 
Illinois  state  legislature  on  February  28,  1867 ;  the  charter  was 
revised  and  amended  on  March  25,  1869.  These  two  facts  clearly 
illustrate  the  principle  that  a  state  government  controls  all  local 
governments,  and  is  superior  to  them. 

In  this  town  system  of  government  there  are  the  fundamental 
divisions,  as  in  the  state  and  in  the  nation ;  namely,  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial.  The  first  two,  in  local  or  municipal 
affairs,  are  far  more  important  than  the  last.  The  legislative 
division  is  the  town  board ;  the  executive  division  is  the  pres- 
ident and  his  appointees,  together  with  the  other  elective 
officials;  and  the  judicial  division  consists  of  the  police  magis- 
trate, justices  of  the  peace,  and  constables. 

Legislative  Department— The  legislative  department  is  com- 
posed of  the  town  board  of  trustees,  made  up  of  the  president, 
the  clerk,  the  collector,  the  supervisor,  the  assessor,  and  four 
trustees.  One  trustee  is  elected  every  year  for  a  term  of  four 
years ;  the  other  members  of  the  board  have  the  same  term,  also, 
four  years. 

The  qualifications  of  all  these  officials  are  as  follows: 

He  must  be  a  legal  voter  of  the  town,  a  requirement  which 
includes  residence  and  citzenship  and  the  age  of  twenty-one. 

He  can  not  hold  any  other  town  office,  nor  can  he  be  trustee 
of  another  town  or  municipal  corporation. 

He  can  not  be  interested  in  any  contract  made  with  the  board 
or  with  the  town  for  the  purpose  of  improvements. 

He  can  not  be  a  defaulter  in  payment  of  any  money  to  the 

town. 

The  election  of  a  trustee  is  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April ; 
the  ballots  being  cast  at  the  polls  in  the  thirty-one  precincts  of 
the  town.  The  polls  are  open  from  six  a.  m.  to  four  p.  m.  In  each 
precinct  there  are  three  judges  and  two  clerks  selected  by  the 
Chicago  Board  of  Election  Commissioners.    (This  board  of  three 


Charter 

of 

1867 


The  Three 
Departments 


Qualifications 


Election 


28 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Oath 


Rules 

and 

Regulations 


members  is  appointed  by  the  county  judge  for  a  term  of  thre 
years).  To  vote  the  citizen  must  be  registered  on  one  q 
two  days — a  Tuesday  four  weeks  before  the  congressional  eleq 
tions  in  November,  or  a  Tuesday  three  weeks  before  the  towi 
primary  elections  in  March.  Cicero's  elections  are  guided  by  th« 
city  election  act  of  1885  passed  by  the  Illinois  State  Legislature 
The  election  returns  are  issued  in  two  duplicate  statements,  bot) 
to  the  board  of  election  commissioners.  The  county  clerk  issue 
a  certificate  of  election  to  the  trustee  elected.  A  contested  elec, 
tion  is  referred  to  and  settled  by  the  board  of  election  commis 
sioners  and  the  county  judge. 

When  the  trustee  legally  enters  his  office,  he  must  take  th« 
following  oath : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  support  th< 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  constitution  of  th< 
State  of  Illinois,  and  that  I  will  faithfully  discharge  the  duties  o 
the  office  of  trustee  according  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 

In  case  the  office  of  trustee  becomes  vacant,  it  is  filled  for  the 
remainder  of  the  term  by  appointment  by  the  board  of  trustees 

The  board  of  trustees  is  authorized  by  the  charter  to  make 
their  own  rules  and  regulations  for  their  government  and  ordei 
of  business.  The  regular  stated  meetings  of  the  board  are  helc 
in  the  town  hall,  on  the  first  and  third  Mondays  of  every  calendai 
month,  except  in  case  of  public  holiday,  when  the  board  bj 
resolution  selects  another  day.  The  specified  time  is  eight  p.  m 
There  are  also  adjourned  meetings  for  completion  of  unfinishec 
business,  and  special  meetings.  The  special  meeting  is  called  by 
either  the  president  or  any  two  members  as  follows :  a  written 
request  stating  the  time,  place,  and  nature  of  business  is  signet 
by  the  president  or  the  two  members  and  filed  with  the  towii 
clerk.  He  gives  every  member  of  the  board  at  least  three  days* 
notice  that  is  written  and  that  specifies  the  time,  place,  and  busi 
ness.  At  this  meeting  only  such  matters  can  be  considered  as 
were  specified  in  the  written  request. 

The  method  of  procedure  at  a  regular  meeting  follows  the! 
usual  parliamentary  rules.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
board  constitute  the  quorum  necessary  to  transact  business.  No 
member  can  be  absent    or    leave    before     adjournment     undei 


GOVERNMENT 


29 


nalty  of  loss  of  pay  for  the  session  unless  he  is  excused  by  the 
resident.  At  each  meeting  the  president  presides ;  or,  if  he  is 
lable  to  attend,  one  of  the  board  members  is  selected  by  the 
:>ard  as  president  "pro  tern." 

In  voting  on  any  resolution,  order,  or  ordinance  for  the  ex- 
jnditure  of  money  or  for  taxation  or  for  a  special  assessment, 
te  yeas  and  nays  must  be  called  and  entered  on  the  record.    In 
)ting  on  other  measures  there  is  collective  voting ;  but  the  yeas 
id  nays  must  be  recorded  if  such  a  vote  is  called  for  by  any 
ember  on  any  question.     A  majority  is  necessary  to  pass  a 
easure ;  the  president  votes  in  case  of  a  tie. 
i  A  correct  record  of  the  minutes  of  all  proceedings  is  kept  by 
e  clerk. 
The  usual  order  of  business  at  a  meeting  is  as  follows  : 
Roll  call 

Consideration  of  minutes  of  previous  meeting 
Presentation  of  petitions,  orders,  and  other  communica- 
tions 
Reports  of  town  officers 
Reports  of  standing  committees 
Reports  of  select  or  special  committees 
Unfinished  business 
Miscellaneous  business 
Adjournment 
In  case   where  a   resolution  or   motion   is   entered   on   the 
nutes,  the  name  of  the  member  who  makes  it  must  also  be 
tered. 

Special  committees  are  elected  by  the  board  as  they  deem 
oper. 

Standing  committees  consist  of  three  or  more  members  each, 
d  are  chosen  by  the  board.  There  are  seventeen  of  them,  as 
lows : 

1.  Finance 

2.  Streets  and  Highways 

3.  Drainage 

4.  Special  Assessments 

5.  Police  and  Fire 

6.  Water  Works 

7.  Street  Lighting- 


Yeas  and 

Nays 


Order 

of 

Business 


The  Standing 
Committees 


30 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Reports  of 
Committees 


Salary 

per 

Meeting 


Classification 

of 

Powers 


8.  Licenses 

9.  Judiciary  and  Ordinances 

10.  Miscellaneous 

11.  Rules  and  Regulations 

12.  Printing 

13.  Public  Grounds 

14.  Gas  and  Electricity 

15.  Transportation 

16.  Committee  of  the  Whole 

17.  Board  of  Local  Improvements. 
The  committee  system  of  the  town  is  very  similar  to  that 

the  nation;  it  is  based  on  the  need  for  careful  investigation  ai 
consideration  of  measures  by  bodies  smaller  in  numbers  th; 
the  entire  legislative  division. 

The  reports  of  committees  are  made  to  "The  President  ai 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Town  of  Cicero,"  and  they  descril 
the  matter  referred  to  them,  give  the  decision  or  the  conclusic 
reached,  and  offer  a  corresponding  recommendation,  resolutio 
or  ordinance.  All  the  relating  papers  must  be  attached  to  tl 
reports. 

The  board  organizes  itself  in  April  of  each  year,  when  tl 
municipal  year  begins.  The  fiscal  year  on  the  other  hand  begii 
January  first  and  ends  December  thirty-first. 

The    salary    of    each    trustee    is    paid    per    meeting.     The! 
is  no  other  compensation  for  any  services,  whatever,  and  a  men 
ber  is  not  entitled  to  pay  for  more  than  one  day's  attendance 
any  one  week.    These  restrictions  are  specified  in  the  charter 
incorporation;  consequently,  any  change  must  come  through  $ 
act  of  the  state  legislature. 

The  powers  of  the  town  board  are  definitely  stated  in  tt 
charter,  in  the  acts  of  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the  constit; 
tion  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  These  powers  may  be  classifie 
broadly,  as  follows : 

A — Members — The  board  regulates  its  own  government  ar 
determines  its  rules  of  procedure. 

B — Appointments — All  appointments  by  the  president  must  t 
made  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  board. 

C — Ordinances — A    law  passed  by  the  board  of  trustees  is  cal 


GOVERNMENT 


31 


ed  an  ordinance.  The  general  ordinances  of  the  town  board  are 
published  by  the  trustees  in  a  book  with  the  title  "The  Revised 
Municipal  Code  of  the  Town  of  Cicero."  The  subjects  with  which 
ordinances  deal  are,  in  general,  as  follows : 

Improvements  in  the  town. 

Control  of  all  town  property,  real  and  personal. 

Issuance  of  licenses  to  every  kind  of  business  and  shop. 

Maintenance  of  order,  peace,  and  safety ;  i.  e.,  the  police  and 
fire  departments. 

Protection  of  the  citizens  from  disease ;  i.  e.,  the  health  de- 
partment. 

Care  of  streets  and  highways ;  i.  e.,  regulation  of  their  use  by 
public  utility  companies,  as  water,  gas,  telephone,  electricity, 
transportation,  and  by  all  kinds  of  traffic. 

Requisition  of  money  by  taxation  for  all  these  purposes.  The 
expenditure  of  money,  however,  is  very  strictly  limited  by  the 
constitution  of  the  state  to  a  maximum  of  five  per  cent  of  the 
assessed  valuation  and  also  by  legislative  acts,  which,  for  ex- 
ample, refer  special  and  general  assessments  and  bond  issues 
to  the  people. 

With  these  facts  regarding  the  legislative  department,  it  must 
be  emphasized  that  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  town  of 
Cicero  depend  to  a  great  extent  on  the  men  whom  the  people 
elect  as  members  of  the  town  board  of  trustees. 


Importance 

of 

Trustees 


CHAPTER  II 

Executive  Department 

The  executive  department  consists  of  the  following  officials, 
elected  by  the  people : 

President  Collector 

Town  Clerk  Assessor 

Supervisor  (Treasurer) 
To  these  must  be  added  the  departments  of  Law,  Police,  Fire, 
and  Health,  which  are  controlled  by  the  appointive  power  of  the 
President.     It  is  these  officials  and  these  departments  that  ex- 


32 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Qualifications 


Election 

and 

Term 


Case 

of 

Vacancy 


Salary 


ecute  the  laws  of  the  town  and  direct  its  affairs.  It  is  significant 
that  the  President,  Town  Clerk,  Supervisor,  Collector,  and  As- 
sessor are  also  members  of  the  legislative  body,  the  town  board 
— an  arrangement  that  results  in  very  efficient  government. 

President 

As  in  practically  all  American  cities  the  chief  executive  officer 
is  the  President.  Ordinarily  he  would  be  called  mayor,  but 
since  Cicero  is  an  incorporated  town,  the  town  title  of  President 
is  used.  His  position  is  one  of  importance  and  responsibility, 
upon  him  depends  the  success  or  failure  of  the  town  government 

The  qualifications  of  the  President  are  citizenship  in  the 
United  States,  the  age  and  residence  requirements  of  a  qualified 
elector,  and  the  necessity  of  continued  residence  within  the 
town  limits. 

He  is  elected  at  the  regular  April  elections  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  Originally  one  year  in  length  the  term  was  increased  to 
four  years  by  a  special  act  of  the  state  legislature  on  June  25, 
1917.  He  holds  his  office  until  his  successor  is  elected  and  qual- 
ified; he  is  eligible  for  re-election.  The  President  must  take 
the  usual  oath  of  office  and  must  execute  to  the  Town  of  Cicero 
a  bond  for  $1000.00  as  surety  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
his  duties.  He  must  keep  his  office  at  the  town-hall  and  attend 
there  during  the  business  hours  of  the  day  for  the  transaction 
of  official  affairs. 

In  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  presidency,  when  the  unexpired 
term  is  less  than  one  year,  the  Board  of  Trustees  elects  one  of 
its  members  to  serve  until  the  next  annual  election.  When  the 
unexpired  term  is  one  year  or  over,  the  vacancy  is  filled  by  an 
election.  A  vacancy  occurs,  too,  when  the  President  removes 
from  the  limits  of  the  town.  If  there  is  a  temporary  absence 
or  disability  of  the  President,  the  board  elects  one  of  its  mem- 
bers as  president  "pro  tern,"  and  the  latter  possesses  the  legal 
powers  of  the  President. 

The  salary  of  the  chief  executive  is  two  thousand  dollars 
($2000.00)  per  year,  an  amount  determined  by  ordinance  of  the 
Town  Board;  it  can  not  be  increased  or  decreased  during  the 
current  term  of  office.  The  President  is  entitled  to  the  services 
of  a  private  secretary,  appointed  by  him,  but  having  his  or  her 


GOVERNMENT 


33 


compensation  determined  by  the  Board  of  Trustees.  It  should 
be  noted  that  such  a  position  as  President  of  a  town  frequently 
leads  to  higher  state  or  federal  positions  ;  and,  if  the  incumbent 
is  a  lawyer,  it  leads  to  an  increased  practice  later,  as  a  result  of 
the  training  secured. 

The  powers  of  the  President  are  broadly  classified  in  four 
groups:  A)  Legislative  powers;  B)  Executive  powers;  C)  Mili- 
tary powers ;  D)  Pardoning  powers. 

A)  Legislative  Powers— The  President  presides  at  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  he  is  the  chief  official  of  that 
body.  He  may  call  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  by  filing  a 
written  request  with  the  Clerk,  stating  time  and  place  of  meet- 
ing and  the  nature  of  the  business  to  be  transacted.  He  has  no 
vote  at  any  meeting  except  in  case  of  a  tie,  when  he  casts  the 
deciding  vote.  He  possesses  the  usual  veto  power  which  may 
be  overcome  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

At  the  close  of  each  fiscal  year,  the  President  submits  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  his  annual  report,  which  contains  a  general 
summary  of  the  affairs  of  the  municipality  for  the  preceding- 
year,  together  with  suggestions  and  recommendations  for  the 
future  interests  of  the  town.  At  various  times,  too,  he  acts  in  a 
similar  capacity  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Local  Improve- 
ments, directing  its  actions  and  drawing  up  specified  ordinances. 

B)  Executive  Powers— In  general  the  President  as  the  chief 
executive  officer  of  the  town  must  faithfully  perform  his  own 
duties  as  prescribed  by  law ;  and  he  must  see  that  all  laws  and 
ordinances  are  duly  enforced  and  obeyed. 

He  has  the  power  at  all  times  to  examine  and  inspect  the 
books,  records,  and  papers  of  any  agent,  employee,  or  officer  of 
the  town.  As  he  is  responsible  for  the  administration,  he  must 
know  thoroughly  the  conduct  of  affairs  by  his  officials. 

He  appoints,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  all  officers  whose  appointment  is  not  by  law  other- 
wise provided  for,  such  as  Town  Attorney,  Highway  Engineer, 
special  officers,  and  heads  and  members  of  the  Health  depart- 
ment. Fire  department,  and  Police  department.  If  a  vacancy 
occurs,  the  President  within  thirty  days  must  communicate  to 
the  Board  the  name  of  his  appointee,  and,  pending  the  concur- 


Annual 
Report 


Responsibility 


Appointments 


34  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

rence  of  the  Board  in  the  appointment,  he  may  designate  some 
suitable  person  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office. 

Removals  The  President  has  the  power  to  remove  any  officer  appointed 

by  him  provided  that  there  is  a  formal  charge  and  provided  that 
he  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  interests  of  the  town  demand  such 
removal.  However,  he  must  report  the  reasons  for  his  actions 
to  the  Board  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  not  less  than  five  days  nor 
more  than  ten  days  after  the  removal ;  if  the  President  fails  or 
refuses  to  file  with  the  Town  Clerk  the  reasons  for  removal.,  or 
if  the  Board  by  a  two-thirds  (2-3)  vote  of  all  its  members,  by 
yeas  and  nays,  to  be  entered  on  the  record,  disapproves  of  the 
removal,  the  officer  is  restored  to  his  office ;  but  he  must  give 
new  bonds  and  take  a  new  oath  of  office.  No  officer  can  be 
removed  a  second  time  for  the  same  offense. 

The  President  must  sign  all  commissions,  and  he  is  author- 
ized to  grant  and  sign  all  licenses  and  permits  under  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  No  license  is  legal  unless  it 
is  signed  by  him.  He  must,  also,  sign  all  warrants  drawn  on 
the  Treasurer  by  the  Town  Clerk,  and  his  name  must  be  on  each 
bond  issued  in  the  name  of  the  town. 

Signature  The  President  with  the  Town  Clerk  has  charge  of  the  sale 

and  transfer  of  all  lots  and  parcels  of  land  attained  by  reason 
of  the  non-payment  of  taxes  or  of  assessments,  together  with 
the  accrued  interest. 

C)  Military  Powers — He  has  the  usual  military  powers  of 
the  executive.  Within  the  town  limits  he  is  conservator  of  the 
peace,  and  it  is  his  duty  to  suppress  all  riots,  routs,  affrays,  fight- 
ing, breaches  of  the  peace,  and  to  prevent  crime.  When  neces 
sary  the  President  has  the  power  to  call  on  every  male  inhabi- 
tant of  the  town  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  to  aid  in  enforcing 
laws  and  ordinances.  In  such  case  he  is,  of  course,  subject  to 
the  authority  of  the  Governor  of  the  state,  who  is  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  militia. 

D)  Pardoning  Powers  —The  President  may  release  an\  per- 
son imprisoned  for  violation  of  any  town  ordinance;  he  must, 
at  the  first  session  of  the  Town  Board,  report  the  release  and 
his  reasons.  This  same  power  of  releasing  prisoners  as  well  as 
the  power  of  remitting  fines  and  penalties  also  belongs  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees. 


GOVERNMENT 


35 


The  attention  of  those  who  are  interested  in  municipal  gov- 
ernment may  well  be  directed  to  the  position  of  the  executive 
in  the  incorporated  town  of  Cicero.  On  the  one  hand,  a  leading 
member  of  the  town  legislature ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  vigorous, 
responsible  executive;  these  two  facts  result  in  a  peculiarly 
efficient  co-operation  of  two  branches  of  our  American  govern- 
ment, a  co-operation  that  is  frequently  lacking  in  city,  state, 
and  nation.  It  seems  to  suggest  a  type  that  ranks  with  the 
city-manager  and  commission  forms  of  local  government. 


Co-operation 
of  Legislative 
and   Executive 


CHAPTER  III 

The  remaining  executive  officials  who  are  elective,  include 
the  Town  Clerk,  the  Collector,  the  Supervisor  (Treasurer),  and 
the  Assessor.  Each  must  have  the  same  qualifications  as  the 
Town  Trustees  in  respect  to  age  and  residence  requirements 
of  a  qualified  elector,  and  the  forbiddance  of  holding  any  other 
town  office,  of  being  interested  in  any  contract  with  the  town 
and  of  defaulting  in  any  payment  to  the  town.  Each  must  take 
the  usual  oath  for  faithful  performance  of  duties ;  and  each,  as 
he  enters  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  must  execute  a  bond  to 
the  town  in  such  a  sum  and  with  such  security  as  the  Board  of 
Trustees  requires.  This  bond  is  surety  for  all  money  handled 
by  the  official  and  for  the  proper  carrying  out  of  the  duties  of 
the  office.  The  salaries  are  paid  from  appropriations  by  the 
Board,  and  all  such  amounts  are  deemed  a  tax  on  the  taxable 
property  of  the  town.  If  the  official  receives  an  income  from 
commissions  or  by  a  percentage  on  the  money  collected,  it  is 
lawful  for  him  to  retain  his  compensation,  which,  however,  can 
not  exceed  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  ($5000.00)  per  year. 
All  salaries,  fees,  and  compensations  are  fixed  by  town  ordi- 
nance. The  term  in  each  case  is  for  four  years,  the  official  being 
elected  at  the  regular  spring  elections.  He  legally  holds  office 
until  his  successor  is  elected.  If  there  is  a  vacancy,  the  office 
is  filled  by  the  President,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 

Lrd  of  Trustees,  until  the  next  annual  election. 


Other 

Executive 

Officials 


36 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Corporate 
Seal 


Town 
Records 


Fiscal  Agent 


Financial 
Records 


Town  Clerk 

The  Town  Clerk  really  has  a  twofold  position:  first,  that  of 
the  Town  Clerk,  and  second,  that  of  the  Town  Comptroller.  His 
salary  is  fixed  by  appropriation,  and  his  bond  is  five  thousand 
dollars.  ($5000.00).     Powers  and  duties  are  as  follows: 

He  has  care  of  the  corporate  seal,  which  must  be  affixed  to 
all  town  documents  before  they  become  official.  He  has  the 
custody  of  all  town  records,  books,  papers;  a  file  of  all  required 
oaths  and  certificates ;  and  records  of  all  bonds  issued  by  the 
town. 

He  attends  all  meetings  of  the  Town  Board  and  keeps  record 
of  the  proceedings,  with  the  rules,  regulations,  by-laws,  and 
ordinances  passed  by  them.  He  handles  all  requisite  notices, 
commuications  and  records  of  the  town  officers ;  issues  and 
attests  all  licenses ;  issues  plates  and  badges ;  and  draws  all 
warrants  for  money  on  the  Town  Treasurer. 

He  appoints,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  J3oard  of 
Trustees,  such  assistants  and  subordinantes  as  he  requires.  He 
is  fully  responsible  for  them  and  he  may  remove  them  at  his 
discretion. 

Comptroller 

As  ex-officio  Comptroller  of  th  etown,  the  Town  Clerk 
assumes  what  in  ordinary  business  would  be  the  duties  of 
an  auditor.  He  and  the  Treasurer  and  the  Collector  consti- 
tute the  Department  of  Finance.  However,  the  Clerk  is  the 
head  of  the  department.  He  supervises  every  officer  of  the 
town  charged  ro  any  manner  with  the  receipt  collection,  and 
disbursement  of  the  town  revenues.  Fie  is  the  fiscal  agent  o\ 
the  tov  n.  Ii.i\  ing  charge  of  all  deeds,  mortgages,  contracts,  judg- 
ments, notes,  bonds,  and  contracts  involving  obligation  on  the 
part  of  the  town,  as  well  as  its  property;  having  the  auditing 
of  all  accounts. 

Scarcely  second  in  importance  are  the  financial  records  he 
must  keep — a  complete  set  of  books  containing  usually  the  fol- 
lowing accounts : 

A)  Current  assets  and  liabilities 

B)  Investments  of  town  in  property 

C)  I  )el'ei  red  debt   of  the  town 


GOVERNMENT 


37 


D)  Appropriations  of  year  for  every  expenditure 

E)  Receipts  from  each  and  every  source  of  revenue.  Finally, 
the  Comptroller  is  the  power  that  balances  the  budget  appro- 
priations desired  by  the  town  officers  with  the  revenue  income 
of  the  municipality. 

Collector 

The  Collector,  before  entering  on  the  duties  of  his  office, 
executes  a  bond  to  the  Town  of  Cicero  for  the  sum  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars  ($50,000.00),  with  surety  approved  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  conditioned  on  the  faithful  performance 
of  the  duties  of  the  office.  He  is  paid  a  regular  salary  and  in 
addition  a  certain  percentage  on  the  amounts  collected,  It  is 
his  duty  to  receive  all  sums  paid  to  the  town  for  taxes,  special 
assessments,  franchises,  licenses,  inspection,  permits,  water,  and 
for  any  other  purpose  not  otherwise  specifically  provided  for. 
if  it  is  due  the  town.  He  must  keep  accurate  books  and  ac- 
counts which  show  all  receipts  and  other  matters  pertaining  to 
his  office.  He  furnishes  and  files  with  the  Town  Clerk  a  com- 
plete monthly  statement  and  also  a  final  yearly  summary.  H^ 
appoints  such  assistants  as  he  needs,  if  authorized  by  the  Board 
of  Trustees.  He  is  responsible  for  his  subordinates  and  may 
remove  them  at  his  discretion. 

The  work  of  the  Collector  is  most  heavy  during  the  period 
from  January  second  to  March  fifteenth,  when  the  regular  taxes 
are  paid  to  him.  Besides  this  responsibility  he  exerts  consid- 
erable directive  power  as  a  member  of  the  Department  of  Fi- 
nance. 

Supervisor 

The  title,  Supervisor,  is  the  old  time-honored  one  used  in  the 
New  England  town.  It  was  used  in  Cicero's  charter  of  incor- 
poration, although  there  it  was  specified  that  the  Supervisor 
should  be,  ex-officio,  the  Treasurer  of  the  town. 

He,  too,  executes  a  heavy  bond,  to  the  value  of  $150,000.00, 
as  surety  for  good  conduct.  His  salary  is  paid  with  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  money  handled  by  him. 

He  receives  all  money  belonging  to  the  town,  and  he  renders, 
at  the  end  of  each  month,  a  statement  under  oath  to  the  Clerk, 
showing  the  state  and  balance  of  the  treasury,  with  an  accurate 


Compensation 

and 

Duties 


Busy  Season 


Keeper 

of 

Treasury 


Real   and 

Personal 

Property 


38  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

record  of  every  cent  received  by  him,  from  whom,  and  on  what 
account ;  in  addition,  an  accurate  record  of  all  money  paid  out, 
and  on  what  account.  During  the  year  he  keeps  a  regular  set 
of  books  as  prescribed  by  the  ordinances  of  the  town,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  he  makes  a  final  report  to  the  Town 
Clerk. 

The  position  of  the  Treasurer  is  that  of  paymaster  to  a  bus- 
iness organization  ;  it  is  one  of  tremendous  financial  responsi- 
bility. 

Assessor 
Value  of  ^}ie  Assessor  is  the  most  feared  man  in  local  government 

His  work — to  estimate  the  value  of  your  property — is  briefly 
as  follows  :  On  or  before  the  first  day  of  May  of  each  year,  he 
receives  from  the  County  Board  of  Assessors  the  assessment 
books  and  all  the  blanks  necessary  to  be  used  in  the  assessment 
of  real  and  personal  property.  Then  between  the  first  day  of 
May  and  the  first  day  of  July  he  determines,  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble, the  fair  cost  value  of  all  real  estate  in  the  town,  setting  down 
in  the  proper  column  the  value  of  each  item ;  he  makes  revalua- 
tions every  four  years  and  new  property  valuations  each  year. 
He  also  assesses  the  personal  property  of  the  citizens  of  the 
town  by  calling  upon  them  and  requesting  them  to  fill  out  a 
blank  called  a  personal  property  schedule,  which  contains,  when 
filled,  a  "true  and  correct"  list  of  the  citizens'  property.  In  the 
latter  part  of  June  the  Assessor  forwards  the  books  to  the 
Board  of  Assessors.  (Keep  in  mind  that  assessed  valuation  is 
one-half  of  the  actual,  cash  valuation).  The  work  of  the  Asses- 
sor is  difficult;  it  arouses  bitterness  in  many  instances;  and  it 
is  hampered  by  the  confused  methods  used  in  Cook  County. 

(Valuations  of  railroad  property  are  made  by  the  State  Tax 
Commission  and  sent  to  the  County  Clerk). 


CHAPTER     III 
THE  LAW  DEPARTMENT 


The  law  department  is  an  executive  department  of  the  town 
government ;  it  consists,  usually,  of  the  town  attorney  and  the 
town  prosecutor,  but  there  may  be  assistants  to  them  if  the  town 
board  so  provides  by  ordinance  or  by  resolution. 

The  town  attorney  is  the  head  of  the  law  department,  and  he 
is  appointed  by  the  board  of  trustees.  Before  he  enters  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  he  must  execute  a  bond  to  the  town  for 
one  thousand  dollars,  as  a  surety  for  faithfulness  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  work. 

His  chief  duties  are  :  to  keep  a  record  of  all  court  actions, 
prosecuted  or  defended  by  his  office  ;  to  furnish  opinions  on  all 
subjects  submitted  to  him  by  the  president  or  the  board  of  trus- 
tees ;  to  draft  any  ordinance  required  by  the  town  board ;  and  to 
prepare  any  papers,  such  as  deeds,  leases,  or  contracts,  as  are  re- 
quired in  the  transaction  of  town  business. 

As  other  town  officials  do,  he  makes  an  annual  report  to  the 
board  of  trustees  at  the  end  of  each  year.  On  the  other  hand 
he  makes  a  yearly  estimate  of  the  expense  for  his  department, 
to  the  town  clerk,  an  estimate  Avhich  is  placed  by  the  clerk  be- 
fore the  board. 

The  town  prosecutor,  appointed  by  the  board  of  trustees,  is 
an  assistant  to  the  town  attorney.  His  particular  office,  how- 
ever, is  to  make  thorough  investigations  of  offenses  against  town 
ordinances,  institute  the  legal  proceedings  that  seem  necessary, 
and  secure  the  legal  penalty.  He  has  the  detailed  work,  too,  of 
verifying  all  complaints  with  respect  to  alleged  violations  of 
town  ordinances,  and  of  endorsing  all  warrants  issued  by  the 
police  magistrate  or  by  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  a  book 
of  records  of  all  complaints  and  the  attendant  information,  a 
record  of  all  legal  cases  conducted  by  him,  and  he  makes 
a   monthly   report   to   the   town   attorney. 


Town 
Attorney 


Duti« 


Town 
Prosecutor 


II     THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 

The   police   department    of   the    town    is    a    most   important  Necessity 

branch  of  the  executive  power.     This  department  has  the  direct  for 

charge  of  the  welfare,  the  safety,  even  the  lives  of  the  citizens  Efficiency 


40 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


of  the  town.  Always,  when  the  cleanliness  and  morality  of  any 
municipality  are  considered,  it  is  the  police  force  that  holds,  or 
loses,  the  necessary  standard.  In  Cicero,  especially,  this  de- 
partment must  be  maintained  with  an  efficiency  second  to  none 
in  the  state.  Partly  as  the  result  of  being  a  manufacturing  and 
transportation  town,  partly  as  the  result  of  being  a  close  suburb 
of  Chicago  and  consequently  being  used  sometimes  as  a  dump- 
ing place  for  Chicago's  criminals,  Cicero  has  real  police  work 
to  do. 
Personnel  The  present  force  of  the  police  department  is  as  follows  : 

1  captain  of  police 

1  lieutenant  of  police 
3  patrol  sergeants 

6  detective  sergeants 
3  desk  sergeants 
36  patrolmen 

2  motorcycle  officials 
1  chauffeur 

The  captain  and  other  officers  are  appointed  by  the  pres- 
ident with  the  consent  of  the  board  of  trustees.  All  promotions 
are  made  by  the  town  board  on  the  basis  of  merit  and  length  of 
service.  Any  dismissal  is  made  by  the  board  of  trustees,  also, 
and  a  dismissal  is  made  only  with  just  cause.  The  captain,  how- 
ever, may  suspend  any  member  of  the  force,  only  he  must  give 
his  reasons  to  the  board. 

The  powers  and  duties  of  a  police  officer  are  in  general  to 
preserve  order,  peace,  and  quiet,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  and  or- 
dinances throughout  the  town.  He  makes  arrests  for  various  | 
crimes,  usually  felonies — robbery,  assault,  or  murder — and 
misdemeanors — speeding,  obstruction,  disorder,  accidents,  etc. 
He  can  force  his  way  into  a  dwelling  or  other  building  if  the 
emergency  demands  such  action;  but  ordinarily  he  must  have 
the  proper  warrant.  If  an  officer  calls  on  a  by-stander  to 
assist  him,  the  person  must  do  so  or  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  from 
five  to  twenty-five  dollars. 
Actual  The  actual  experiences  of  a  policeman  are  rather  different 

Experience         from  the  cases  stated  in  the  lawbooks.    At  one  minute  he  may  be 
after  a  robber;  and  at  the  next  he  is  lifting  a  stricken  horse,  or 


Tenure 

of 

Office 


Legal 
Duties 


Report 


GOVERNMENT  41 

acting  as  a  fireman.  He  helps  man,  woman,  and  child;  inspects 
buildings;  assists  the  health  commissioner;  seeks  stolen  proper- 
ty ;  or  enforces  the  garbage  laws.  Then  he  is  frequently  called 
to  allay  suffering  and  destitution  when  he  helps  the  orphan,  the 
widow,  and  those  in  misfortune.  During  the  hscal  year  ending 
March  31,  1921,  the  Cicero  police  force  made  2,016  arrests,  of 
which  216  were  state  cases,  and  1800  were  town  cases.  They 
found  twelve  abandoned  infants,  reported  452  accidents,  report- 
ed forty-two  attempted  suicides,  reported  252  dead  animals,  and 
took  352  sick  and  injured  to  hospitals.  The  force  recovered 
stolen  property,  totalling  in  value  $69,738.00. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  monthly  report,  made  by  the      Model 
captain  of  the  police  department  to  the  president  and  board  of 
trustees ;  it  shows  accurately  the  regular  work  of  the  police 
force. 
To  the  Honorable  President  and  Board  of  Trustees : 

Cicero,  Illinois,    January  3rd,  1921. 
Town  of  Cicero. 
Gentlemen : 

The  following  is  a  report  of  the  work  done  by  the 
Department  of  Police,  from  December  1st,  1920  to  January  1st, 
1921:  Patrol   calls    188,   of   which   81    were    for   arrests,   8 

hospital,  73  false  calls,  3  detention  hospital,  3  fire  calls,  2  bride- 
well, 4  county  jail,  4  juvenile  detention  home  and  6  calls  for 
people  taken  home  sick.  Also  one  call  to  bring  prisoners  from 
Harrison  Street  Police  Station  to  Cicero,  and  one  taking  prison- 
ers from  Cicero  to  East  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Station.  One 
call  taking  dead  body  to  undertaker. 

Total   number   of   arrests 128 

Total  amount  of  fines  imposed $  452.00 

Total  number  for  safe  keeping 8 

Total  amount  of  fines  sent  to  bridewell 3.00 

Total  amount  of  fines  collected 449.00 

Amount  of  goods  recovered  valued  at 2193.00 

Amount  of  goods  recovered  and  turned  over 
to  other  police   departments   and  owners   in 

other  cities   6525.00 

Yours  truly,    Captain  of  Police 


42 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


ensions 


Captain  of  Police — He  has  the  management  and  con- 
trol of  all  matters  relating  to  the  department :  books  and  records  ; 
assignments  of  all  policemen;  regulations  for  uniform  and 
badges.  He  is  responsible  for  the  well  being  of  the  town  and 
its  citizens  and  for  the  protection  of  their  property. 

Lieutenant  of  Police — He  assists  the  captain  in  the 
performance  of  his  duties ;  acts  as  captain  if  the  latter  is  absent ; 
and  is  in  charge  of  the  department  at  night. 

Detective  Sergeant — He  is  sometimes  called  a  plain- 
clothes man.  He  spends  his  time  either  on  special  assignments 
given  him  by  the  captain,  or  upon  his  own  initiative,  in  the  gen- 
eral prevention  of  crime — a  task  requiring  secrecy  and  effi- 
ciency. 

Desk  Sergeant — He  has  charge  of  the  police  alarm  sys- 
tem, receiving  all  calls  and  reports  from  the  patrolmen  or  any 
officer  sent  in  by  telephone.  He  has  the  "book"  where  he  re- 
cords all  complaints  and  offenses.  In  constant  touch  day  and 
night  with  every  part  of  the  town,  the  desk  sergeant  is  the  heart 
of  the  police  system. 

Patrolman — The  policeman's  duty  is  to  cover  his  patrol 
or  "beat",  and  there  to  maintain  order  and  enforce  the  laws.  He 
acts  on  his  own  judgment,  reports  all  facts  of  any  value,  and 
performs  his  duty  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

There  are  two  improvements  still  to  be  made  to  the  police 
department — and  both  would  be  welcomed  by  the  officers  and 
the  men.  The  first  is  the  application  of  civil  service  regula- 
tions— regulations  which  secure  men  fit,  physically  and  mentally, 
and  prevent  dismissals  for  political  reasons ;  i.  e.,  they  make  the 
position  secure.  The  second  is  a  pension  system  which  protects 
the  members  and  their  families  in  case  of  death  or  permanent 
disability.  There  is,  indeed,  an  organization  called  the  Cicero 
Policemen's  Benefit  Association.  The  dues  are  nominal  and 
there  is  a  death  benefit  of  five  hundred  dollars  ($500.00).  The 
need,  however,  is  to  adopt  regular  civil  service  methods. 

Ill     THE  FIRE  DEPARTMENT 
The  Cicero  fire  department  is  an  efficient  one  with  excellent 


GOVERNMENT 


43 


equipment,  line  organization,  and  an  experienced   force.     The 
department  has  hve  hre  stations  located  as  follows : 

Tire  station  No.  1 — 1342  South  50th  Court,  Grant  Works 
Tire  station  No.  2 — 1501  South  58th  Avenue,  Warren  Park 
Tire  station  No.  3 — 5303  West  25th  Street,  Morton  Park 
Fire  station  No.  4 — 4900  West  30th  Place,  Hawthorne 
Tire  station  No.  5 — 26th  Street  and  60th  Court,  Clyde. 
The  station  in  Morton  Park  has  the  hook  and  ladder  truck, 
a  "steamer'',  and  a  chemical  car.     Each  of  the  other  four  sta- 
tions has  a  hose  cart  and  an  engine,  known  as  a  "pumper."     The 
apparatus  is  modern  and  motor-driven. 

The  electrical  alarm  system  that  has  been  in  use  for  years 
is  now  (1921)  being  replaced  by  a  modern  one  that  with  its  cen- 
tral equipment  and  branch  circuits  works  in  an  efficient  manner. 
Grant  Works  has  been  equipped  and  Hawthorne  is  being  equip- 
ped. 

The  personnel  of  the  department  consists  of  the  fire  marshal, 
and  live  companies — one  for  each  station.  At  the  Morton  Park 
station  are  the  hre  marshal  himself  and  his  assistant,  one  engin- 
eer and  one  assistant  engineer,  and  four  men.  At  each  of  the 
other  stations  are  the  captain,  the  lieutenant,  one  engineer,  one 
assistant  engineer,  and  six  men.  The  men  are  on  duty  in  two 
shifts  of  twenty-four  hours  each.  Their  total  number  is  forty- 
eight  listed  with  the  salaries  as  follows : 
Tire  Marshal 


Assistant  fire  marshal 
Four  captains 
Four  lieutenants 
Four  engineers 
Four  ass't.  engineers 
Four  truck  drivers 
Twenty-eight  pipe  men 
and  expenses  as  below : 

Laundry,  fuel,  and  light 

Gasoline 

Repairs,  supplies,  new  hose 

Repairs  to  fire  houses 


$1,980.00 
1,920.00 
1,920.00 
1,860.00 
1,860.00 
1,800.00 


Total 


$  2,400.00 
2,100.00 
7,920.00 
7,680.00 
7,680.00 
7,440.00 
7,440.00 
46,800.00 

5,000.00 
1,500.00 
6,000.00 
6,000.00 
$103,960.00 


The 
Steamer 


Electric 
System 


Organization 


44 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Tenure 

of 

Office 


Fire 
Marshal 


Fires 

and 

Insurance 


All  members  of  the  fire  department  are  appointed  by  thei 
town  board  of  trustees.  A  member  may  be  suspended  by  the 
lire  marshal,  but  in  such  a  case  the  marshal  must  report  the  sus- 
pension and  his  reasons  for  it  to  the  board  of  trustees  at  its  next 
meeting.  The  board  then  acts  as  seems  to  them  right  and  just, 
either  reinstating  the  man  or  dismissing  him.  The  fireman  re- 
ceives no  pay  during  suspension  nor  until  he  is  returned  to  duty 
by  the  proper  authority.  A  member  is  promoted  on  the  basis 
of  merit  and  length  of  service. 

The  fire  marshal  has  sole  and  absolute  control  over  all  per- 
sons connected  with  the  fire  department,  while  on  duty.  He 
has  charge  of  the  organization,  government,  and  discipline  of 
the  department,  establishing  its  rules  and  regulations,  with  the 
approval  of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  has  the  custody  of  all 
equipment:  hose,  carts,  engines,  trucks,  ladders,  electric  lines, 
and  all  property  belonging  to  his  department. 

At  a  fire  itself,  the  marshal  directs  the  operations  of  his  force 
and  furthermore  he  has  the  powers  of  prescribing  limits  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  fire  within  which  no  persons  may  go,  excepting  fire- 
men and  policemen  and  those  admitted  by  his  order;  of  cutting; 
down  or  removing  or  blowing  up  any  building  or  any  erections 
for  the  purpose  of  checking  or  extinguishing  a  fire;  of  summon- ( 
ing  by-standers  or  licensed  wagons  or  trucks  and  their  drivers? 
to  his  help. 

The  marshal  investigates  the  origin  and  causes  of  all  fires, : 
keeping  an  exact  record  of  all  findings  and  circumstances.  Inj 
addition  to  this  record  he  has  a  quarterly  report  to  make  to  the, 
town  board  regarding  the  condition  and  apparatus  of  the  fire 
department;  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  he  makes  an  annual  re- 
port showing  the  number  and  descriptions  of  buildings  destroyed' 
or  damaged,  together  with  the  names  of  owners  or  occupants,' 
amount  of  property  destroyed  and  insurance  for  the  same.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  another  copy  of  the  report  goes  to  the 
state  fire  marshal  at  Springfield,  and  still  another  to  the  National 
Board  of  Underwriters  of  Insurance.  Not  only  the  town  but 
the  state  also  is  concerned  with  our  fire  losses  ;  and  the  insurance 
companies  study  the  report  closely   for  it  bears  directly  upon 


GOVERNMENT 


45 


their  insurance  rates  or  premiums.     The  better  the  fire  depart- 
ment, the  lower  are  the  rates. 

The  following  figures  show  in  general  the  work  of  the  Cicero      Report 
Fire  Department  for  1920:  for 

Total  number  of  alarms 248 

False  alarms    113 

Fire  alarms    135 

Of  the  135  real  fires  (not  including  the  fire  in  the  C.  B.  &  Q. 
yards)  132  were  stayed  and  3  spread. 

The  fires  occurred  in  the  following  kinds  of  buildings  : 

Brick  structures   28 

Frame  structures   78 

Concrete  structures   1 

Other  builings  (sheds,  garages,  etc.) 28 

Total 135 

The  value  of  the  property  involved  in  these  fires  was  $1,- 
030,200.00.  The  actual  damage  caused  by  fire  amounted  to  $60,- 
200.00,  which  was  covered  by  insurance  to  the  amount  of  $553.- 
300.00.  From  these  statements  it  can  be  decided  that  the  fire 
department   is   efficient. 

The  most  important  duty  of  the  fire  marshal,  however,   is      Prevention 
to  prevent  fires  and  losses  of  life  and  property  by  fire.    To  this      IS 
end  he  examines  all  walls  and  buildings  that  are  dangerous  or      a       mpo 
damaged ;    he    examines    buildings    that    are    being    raised,    en- 
larged, altererd,  or  rebuilt ;  he  inspects,  in  outlying  districts  foud 
times   a  year,   in   the   closely-built  portions   once   a   month,   all 
buildings,  premises,  and  thoroughfares  ;  he  carefully  inspects  all 
places  containing  inflammable  materials  (fire-traps)  ;  he  makes 
a  semi-  annual  inspection  of  all  school  buildings,  public  halls, 
theatres,   churches,   and    manufacturing   plants ;    he    requires    a 
semi-monthly   fire   drill   in   each   school ;  and  with  the  building 
inspector  and  the  chief  of  police  he  can  close  any  building  or 
part   of  a  building  where   there   is   a  violation   of  either   state 
law  or  town  ordinance  regarding  fire  prevention. 

The  assistant  fire  marshal  has  command  in  the  absence  of      Subordinates 
the  fire  marshal.     Each  captain  has  command  of  his  respective 
company,  makes  investigations  in  his  district,  instructs  his  men, 
and  reports  to  the  fire  marshal.     Each  lieutenant  is  second  in 


46 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Pension 
System 


command  of  the  station,  and  acts  as  captain  in  the  absence  of 
his  superior.  The  firemen  respond  to  all  alarms  and  do  all  in 
their  power  to  extinguish  fires. 

The  fire  department  has  no  pension  fund  nor  pension  sys- 
tem. Certainly  the  welfare  and  the  efficiency  of  the  depart- 
ment and  justice  in  the  treatment  of  its  members  necessitate 
a  definite  pension  system  to  provide  an  adequate  sum  to  pro- 
tect the  fireman  in  case  of  illness  or  accident,  and  to  protect 
the  fireman's  family  in  case  of  death  or  during  retirement  after 
years  of  service. 


Organizati 


Town 

and 

Schools 


Selection 


IV.    THE  HEALTH  DEPARTMENT 

The  health  department  of  the  town  is  an  executive  depart- 
ment which  is  in  charge  of  such  commissioners  of  health  and 
such  other  officers  and  employees  as  the  board  of  trustees  deems 
necessary.  At  the  present  time,  1921,  the  department  has  the 
following  organization : 

One  health  commissioner 

One  departmental  clerk 

Five  nurses 

Four  doctors 

One  sanitary  officer 

One  medical  laboratory 

One  Ford  sedan 
It  is  important  to  know  that  last  year,  1920,  the  town  en- 
tered into  a  contract  with  the  grammar  school  board  to  take 
over  the  health  work  of  the  schools  and  co-ordinate  the  two 
branches  of  work,  town  and  schools.     The  new  system  is  effi-  j 
cient,  as  it  has  resulted  in  a  centralized  control  of  the  preventive 
measures,  and  the  diseases  themselves.     The  increased  expense- 
is  met  by  the  payment  of  six  thousand  dollars    ($6,000.00)   to' 
the  town  from  the  grammar  school  board. 

The  health  commissioner  is  appointed  by  the  president  of 
the  town  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  board  of  trustees, 
as  also  are  all  subordinates  in  the  department.  Furthermore,  the 
health  commissioner  is  required  to  give  a  bond  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  conditioned  on  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties. 
The  power  of  removal  is  in  the  hands  of  the  president,  who 


GOVERNMENT 


47 


with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  board  may  remove  from  office 
any  officer  or  employee  of  the  department. 

The  primary  duty  of  the  health  department  is  the  preser- 
vation of  the  public  health,  carrying  out  all  state  laws  and  town 
ordinances  to  that  effect.  Their  activities  may  be  summarized 
as  follows  : 

1.  Prevention  and  quarantine  of  contagious  diseases.  They 
investigate  and  inspect  buildings  and  premises  of  all  kinds 
where,  if  necessary,  they  enforce  all  state  laws  and  town  ordi- 
nances pertaining  to  sanitary  conditions.  If  any  contagious 
disease  does  appear,  they  enforce  all  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  Illinois  state  board  of  health  regarding  cleanliness,  quar- 
antine, placarding,  medical  care,  and  disinfection  or  fumigation. 

2.  Regulation  of  food  stuffs  and  drugs.  They  make  rules  and 
regulations  governing  the  conduct  of  all  dairies,  milk  depots, 
food  storage  plants,  bakeries,  restaurants,  fruit  stores,  soda 
fountains,  ice  cream  parlors,  butcher  shops,  grocery  stores,  etc. 
These  rules  relate  not  only  to  the  sanitary  conditions  and  the 
manner  of  handling  the  foodstuffs  and  the  other  products,  but 
also  to  the  persons  who  are  employed  in  the  various  places, 
because  their  health  and  habits  may  be  a  menace  to  the  welfare 
of  the  community. 

3.  Care  of  school  children.  In  accordance  with  the  arrange- 
ment stated  before,  the  four  doctors  assisted  by  the  nurses  look 
after  the  health  of  the  ten  thousand  school  children  of  the  town. 
This  work  includes  medical  inspection,  prevention  of  contagious 
disease,  corrective  treatment,   and  educational   instruction. 

4.  Inspection  of  workshops.  The  health  officers  must  inspect 
the  sanitary  conditions  of  all  workshops  and  factories  and  see 
that  the  conditions  are  good,  or  else  prosecute  the  offenders. 

5.  Advisory  duties.  The  health  department  recommends,  as 
it  deems  necessary,  any  rule  or  regulation  to  promote  and  se- 
cure the  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town — whether  it  deals 
with  a  bottle  of  milk,  garbage  in  the  alley,  or  an  epidemic  of 
influenza  or  small  pox. 

At  the  first  of  each  year  the  health  commissioner  makes  out 
and  renders  to  the  town  clerk  a  full  and  detailed  statement  of  all 


Summary 

of 

Activities 


48 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


1921 
Expen- 
ditures 


expenditures  for  the  preceding  year  as  well  as  a  complete  record 
of  the  work  and  transactions  of  the  department. 

In  conclusion  there  is  attached  an  itemized  list  of  the  health 
department  appropriations  for  1921 : 

Salary — One  health  commissioner $  3,000 

Salary— One  clerk 1,800 

Salary— Five  nurses  at  $1,800 9,000 

Salary— Four  doctors  at  $1,000 4,000 

Salary — One  sanitary  officer 900 

Laboratory  expense   600 

One  Ford  sedan 900 

Automobile  maintenance 400 

Printing,  supplies,  miscellaneous 4,000 

Total $24,600 

Deduction,  contract  with  school  board 6,000 

Total .$18,600 


Personnel 


Initiation 
of 

Improve- 
ment 


IV.  THE  BOARD  OF  LOCAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

The  board  of  local  improvements  consists  of  the  regular  town 
board  which  forms  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  to  trans- ! 
act  this  particular  business.    The  procedure  of  the  board  is  im- 
portant  and  will  bear  close  study  because  at  some  time  or  other5 
the   ordinary   citizen   is   confronted   with   an   improvement   and 
the  necessity  of  paying  for  it. 

A  local  improvement  starts  either  by  a  petition  of  the  prop- , 
erty  owners  or  by  the  board  of  local  improvements  without  a. 
petition. 

The  board  then  passes  a  resolution  originating  the  improve-; 
ment  and  setting  forth  all  details  regarding  it.  Next,  the  board'; 
directs  the  president  to  prepare  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the 
proposed  improvement  in  accordance  with  the  directions  in  the 
resolution.  The  president  has  an  estimate  carefully  worked 
out  by  the  town  engineer  and  then  submits  it  to  the  board.  If 
the  board  adopts  the  estimate,  a  date  is  set,  not  less  than  ten 
days  hence,  for  a  public  hearing. 

Meanwhile,  at  least  five  days  before  t lie  hearing,  a  notification. 


GOVERNMENT 


49 


including  a  copy  of  the  estimate,  is  mailed  to  all  property  own- 
ers affected,  advising  them  of  the  proposed  improvement.  Later 
the  public  hearing  is  held ;  and  the  board,  having  listened  to  the 
property  owners,  can  either  dismiss  the  proceedings  or  continue 
them.  It  has  always  been  their  policy  to  follow  the  wishes  of 
the  majority,  but  they  could  act  without  consideration  of  them 

Having  decided  in  favor  of  the  proposed  improvement,  the 
board  directs  the  president  to  prepare  an  ordinance  covering  the 
improvement.  This  ordinance  together  with  the  estimate  when 
finished,  is  recommended  by  the  board  of  local  improvements 
to  the  town  board  of  trustees  for  passage,  and  it  is  passed. 

According  to  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  the  town  attor- 
ney  files  a  petition,  to  which  is  attached  a  copy  of  the  recom- 
mendation, estimate,  and  ordinance,  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of 
the  county  court.  This  petition  prays  that  the  county  court 
confirm  the  assessment  as  proposed  in  the  recommendation,  es- 
timate, and  ordinance. 

Before  the  confirmation  of  the  improvement  by  the  county 
court,  however,  these  steps  have  been  taken : 

1.  Appointment  of  a  special  assessment  commissioner  by  the 
president,  and  the  spreading  of  the  assessment  roll  by  the  com- 
missioner, the  roll  showing  the  legal  description  of  the  property. 
the  name  of  the  owner,  and  amount  assessed  against  the  same. 
(Certificate  of  appointment  and  assessment  roll  are  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county  court.) 

2.  Notice  by  mail  to  each  property  owner  stating  the  amount 
assessed  and  also  stating  the  date  for  filing  objections  in  the 
county  court.     (There  are  also  published  notices  for  two  sue 
cessive  weeks.) 

3.  Hearing  of  objections  by  the  county  court.  There  may  be 
no  objections,  or  the  assessment  may  be  reduced  as  exorbitant, 
or  the  proceedings  may  be  dismissed. 

Supposing  the  assessment  has  been  confirmed,  the  board  of 
local  improvements  then  advertises  for  bids  from  public  con- 
tractors for  the  construction  of  the  improvement.  At  the  spec- 
ified time  and  place  the  bids  are  opened,  and  are  accepted  or  re- 
jected as  the  board  sees  fit.  Usually  the  lowest  bidder  receives 
me  contract. 

The  actual  work  then  begins  under  the   supervision  of  the 


Intermediate 
Steps 


Actual 
Work 


50  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

town  engineer.  The  latter  submits  to  the  board  of  local  im- 
provements a  certificate  of  the  work  done,  and  the  board  issues 
bonds  corresponding  to  the  amount.  Complying  with  the  terms 
of  the  ordinance  the  contractor  must  accept  bonds  in  payment  of 
all  work  done.  These  bonds  bear  interest  at  five  per  cent  and  are 
payable  only  from  the  special  assessment  fund  when  collected. 
Payment  Payments    for   improvements   are   divided   in   various   ways. 

Water  stubs  and  sewer  stubs  are  payable  in  one  year;  sidewalks. 
sewer  mains,  and  water  mains  in  five  years  ;  street  pavement  in 
ten  years.  The  method  is  optional  with  the  board  of  local  im- 
provements, but  there  is  a  legal  maximum  of  twenty  years. 

The  town  collector,  having  received  a  copy  of  the  assessment 
roll  from  the  clerk  of  the  county  court,  sends  notices  to  all 
property  owners,  and  then  he  receives  the  payments,  according 
to  the  installment.  The  collector  turns  the  money  over  to  the 
supervisor,  ex-officio  treasurer,  and  he  pays  the  bonds  as  they 
become  due. 

In  case  of  a  deficit  caused  by  expenses  larger  than  the  esti- 
mate, a  supplementary  special  assessment  is  levied.  If  there  is 
a  surplus,  a  rebate  or  reduction  of  the  assessment  roll  is  ordered, 
which  will  decrease  the  amount  to  be  paid  by  the  property 
owners.  In  all  cases  certificates  regarding  the  work  done  and 
the  costs  and  the  payments  must  be  filed  with  the  clerk  of  the 
county  court. 


CHAPTER     IV 
J  UDICIAL  DEPA  RT M ENT 

The  judicial  department  of  the  town  consists  of  the  police 
magistrate,  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  constables. 

Police  Magistrate — The  magistrate  of  the  police  court  is  a 
very  important  official  in  the  life  of  the  town.  He  handles  by 
far  the  largest  number  of  cases  in  local  affairs  on  account  of 
his  close  relations  with  the  police  department;  and  it  is  his  care- 
ful administration  of  the  office  that  produces  a  wholesome  effect 
on  the  ordinary  citizen. 


GOVERNMENT 


51 


He  is  elected  for  four  years,  obtaining  his  commission  from 
the  governor  of  the  state,  and  he  receives  a  salary  from  his  fees, 
which  are  ordinarily  known  as  "costs,"  though  a  small  sum 
always  goes  to  the  officer  making  the  arrest  in  each  case.  His 
bond  as  specified  by  town  ordinance  amounts  to  $5,000.00. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  charter  of  the  town  the  police 
magistrate  takes  the  same  oath  of  office,  has  the  same  power 
arid  authority,  and  receives  the  same  fees  as  any  justice  of  the 
peace- — all  which  are  provided  for  under  the  laws  of  the  state  (see 
justices'  jurisdiction.)  In  general  he  tries  minor  violations  of 
the  law;  such  as,  disorderly  conduct,  disturbance  of  peace,  and 
any  violation  of  the  town  ordinances.  His  jurisdiction  covers 
both  civil  and  criminal  actions ;  he  may  fine  or  imprison ;  he  may 
dismiss  the  offender,  or  hold  him  for  trial  in  a  higher  court. 

Justices  of  the  Peace — There  are  five  justices  of  the  peace, 
elected  for  a  term  of  four  years  and  commissioned  by  the 
governor.  Every  justice  takes  the  oath  of  office  prescribed  by 
the  state  constitution ;  and  he  executes  a  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$5,000.00  as  security  for  payment  of  all  money  due  the  govern- 
ment and  for  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  is  paid 
iby  fees  received  for  various  legal  actions,  examples  of  which  are 
— acknowledgment  of  a  deed  or  mortgage,  administering  oath 
I  to  an  affidavit,  issuing  a  summons  or  warrant,  performance  of  a 
marriage  ceremony,  and  a  set  sum  for  the  trial  of  all  contested 
cases.  As  the  police  magistrate,  the  justice  may  fine  or  imprison 
l  the  offender,  dismiss  the  case,  or  transfer  it  to  a  higher  court — 
in  Cook  County,  the  county  or  circuit  or  superior  court,  or  crim- 
inal court. 

The  jurisdiction  is  as  follows : 

A— Civil  Actions — The  justice  of  the  peace  exercises  his 
authority  in  certain  cases  where  the  amount  claimed  does  not 
exceed  three  hundred  dollars.  Such  cases  are  actions  on  con- 
tracts, for  damages,  of  replevin,  for  fraud,  etc.  If  the  amount 
involved  is  over  three  hundred  dollars,  the  case  goes  to  a  higher 
court. 

B — Criminal  Actions — The  jurisdiction  of  the  justice  is  limited 
to  criminal  actions,  such  as  misdemeanors,  assault  and  battery, 
etc.,  in  which  the  punishment  is  by  fine  only,  and  does  not  exceed 
three  'hundred  dollars ;   and   to   criminal   actions   involving   im- 


Election 

and 

Salary 


Powers 


Election, 
Oath, 
and  Fees 


Jurisdiction 


52 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Constable* 


prisonment  which  is  not  more  than  six  months.  Otherwise  the 
cases  go  to  the  Cook  County  criminal  court. 

Closely  connected  with  the  justices  of  the  peace  are  the  con- 
stables. They  are  five  in  number,  are  elected  for  four  years, 
*ake  the  oath  of  office,  execute  a  bond  of  $10,000.00  for  security, 
and  receive  their  income  in  fees. 

The  constable  is  mentioned  here  because,  though  a  police 
officer,  he  is  really  the  officer  of  the  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
executes  the  orders  of  the  justice,  the  police  magistrate,  and  a 
judge,  in  both  civil  and  criminal  cases.  His  jurisdiction  is  the 
county. 


Estimate 

of 

Tax  Lery 


FINANCES  OF  THE  TOWN 

The  finances  of  the  town  include,  during  the  year,  four  main 
operations.  As  these  operations  are  the  ones  common  to  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States,  it  is  important  to  understand  clearly 
their  main  elements.     The  four  are : 

I     Appropriations — the  amount  of  money  needed  (tax) 
II     Assessment- — the  valuation  of  property 

III     Collection — the  duty  of  the  tax  payer 
IV     Disbursements — the  payment  of  the  items  in  the  appro- 
priations. 

I  Appropriations — How  much  money  does  Cicero  need  to 
run  itself  the  coming  year? 

On  or  before  the  firs!  day  of  January  in  each  year  all  the 
officers  of  the  town  submit  to  the  comptroller  (town  clerk)  de- 
tailed, written  statements  of  the  appropriations  desired  for  the 
ensuing  year.  These  estimates  are  arranged  and  summarized  by 
the  members  of  the  financial  department — clerk,  supervisor,  and 
collector — in  the  form  of  a  "skeleton  budget."  The  budget  to 
gether  with  the  financial  report  for  the  preceding  year  and  an 
estimate  of  the  revenue  or  income  expected  during  the  current 
year,  is  transmitted  to  the  town  board  of  trustees.  After  care- 
ful examination  and  revision  by  the  trustees,  the  budget  is  set 
forth  in  the  legal  phraseology  of  a  town  ordinance  and  pa$&ed. 


PLATE  V 


The  Distribution  of  Each  Dollar  Expended  for  Taxes 
Cicero,  Illinois,    1922 

State _ $  .042 

County .056 

Town .313 

Grammar  School .323 

High  School 226 

Sanitary  District 033 

Forest  Preserve .007 


$1,000 


GOVERNMENT  53 

Next,  the  amounts  of  money  that  are  received  from  other  sources 
than  direct  taxation  are  subtracted  from  the  total  appropriated, 
and  the  remainder  is  the  amount  of  tax  levy  for  Cicero  and  it  is 
sent  to  the  clerk  of  Cook  County  court  to  be  listed  with  the  other 
tax  levies,  such  as  state,  county,  school,  etc. 

The  following  is  the  skeleton  budget  for  Cicero  for  the  year      skeleton 
1921,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  amounts  to  be  collected      Budget 
from  other  sources  than  direct  taxation  : 

Salary  Fund  $     13,000.00 

Street  Lighting   32,270.00 

Collecting  and  Disbursing  8,050.00 

Election  Expenses   , 14,000.00 

Public  Works 92,880.00 

Water  Department see  below 

Health   Department 24,600.00 

Police  Department 97,360.00 

Fire  Department    103,960.00 

Contingent  Fund 75,520.00 

Department  of  Buildings see  below 

Alarm   Maintenance    12,200.00 

(Fire  and  Police) 
Receipts  from  licenses,  fees,  fines,  permits,  etc. :  $  75,000.00 

(approximate) 
Receipt  from  Grammar  School  Board  of  Educa- 
tion for  health  service  6,000.00 


TOTAL...  $  81,000.00 

Cicero  (town)  appropriations  for  1921   $473,840.00 

Deductions    81,000.00 


TOTAL  TAX  LEVY  (NET)  .  .  .  $392,840.00 
Several  of  the  items  of  the  budget  are  to  be  explained :  the      Com 
amount  for  street  lighting  is  paid  the  Public  Service  Company  of 
Northern  Illinois  to  maintain  the  street  lights  throughout  tin- 
town. 

The  fund  for  collecting  and  disbursing  takes  care  of  the  in- 
cidental expenses  attending  the  assessment  of  personal  property 
and  real  estate,  the  collection  of  general  taxes,  and  the  disburse- 
ments by  the  treasurer. 


54 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Valuation 

of 

Real  Estate 


.  Election  expenses  include  payments  to  the  judges  and  the 
clerks  of  election,  rental  of  polling  places,  and  the  pro-rata  share 
of  the  election  commissioners'  expenditures  for  all  town  elec- 
tions. 

The  account  of  the*  department  of  public  works  covers  the 
salary  of  the  town  foreman  and  a  long  list  of  supplies;  such  as, 
hay,  feed,  horseshoeing,  maintenance  of  garbage  wagons,  the 
cleaning  of  alleys,  streets,  sewers,  catchbasins,  etc. ;  and  all 
necessary  labor. 

The  water  department  is  self-supporting.  Sufficient  revenue 
is  collected  from  the  consumers  of  water  to  pay  all  expenses,  in- 
cluding the  purchase  of  water  from  the  city  of  Chicago,  the 
reading  of  water  meters,  and  the  repair  of  the  same. 

The  contingent  fund  is  the  emergency  fund ;  to  it  are  charged 
such  items  as :  publications,  laundry,  fuel,  light,  postage,  station- 
ery, telephone  tolls,  salary  of  town  mechanic,  salary  of  court 
clerk,  extra  clerk  hire,  janitor's  salary,  repairs,  and  all  miscel- 
laneous epcpenses,  made  only  upon  the  authorization  of  the  town 
board  of  trustees. 

The  department  of  buildings  has  its  separate  fund  maintained 
by  collections  of  fees  for  building  and  electrical  permits.  The 
department  is  composed  of  a  commissioner  of  buildings  who 
supervises  all  inspections  and  issues  the  permits;  and  three  in- 
spectors, building,  electrical,  and  plumbing.  The  latter  take  the 
responsibility  of  boiler  and  engine  inspection,  also.  These 
officials  are  regularly  appointed  by  the  board  of  trustees. 

The  remaining  departments  have  been  discussed  under  ex- 
ecutive branches  of  town  government. 

II     Assessment — What  is  the  value  of  the  property  in  Cicero  : 
which  must  pay  the  tax?     How  much  must  each  dollar  pay? 
What  is  the  rate? 

The  assessment  of  property  in  the  town  is  the  duty  of  the 
assessor,  a  double  duty,  for  it  concerns  real  estate  and  personal 
property. 

A — Real  Estate — The  county  clerk  lists  all  taxable,  property 
with  the  corresponding  legal  description.  These  real  estate 
books  come  to  the  assessor  once  in  every  four  years ;  it  is  his  job, 
then,  to  make  a  valuation  of  all  property.  Each  year,  however, 
he  has  the  records  changed  according  to  improvements  made. 


GOVERNMENT 


55 


additions  erected,  and  losses  suffered.  He  returns  the  books 
with  the  assessed  valuations  (now  one-half  the  market  price) 
to  the  Cook  County  board  of  assessors.  The  latter  check  up  all 
records  and  then  send  the  books  to  the  county  board  of  review. 
This  board  hears  all  complaints  of  tax  payers  from  July  7th  to 
August  1st,  while  the  actual  hearing's  are  held  in  August.  Finally. 
the  county  clerk  has  the  real  estate  records. 

B — Personal  Property — The  town  assessor  mails  or  delivers 
the  sheets  called  personal  property  schedules.  These  schedules 
are  filled  out  by  the  taxpayers,  who  must  also  take  an  oath  re- 
garding the  correctness  of  the  statements  made.  All  schedules 
are  sent  to  the  county  board  of  assessors  who  arrange  the  lists 
and  compile  the  totals.  For  these,  too,  the  assessed  valuation  is 
one-half  the  market  value.  The  lists  go  to  the  board  of  review, 
as  do  the  real  estate  records,  and  thence  to  the  county  clerk. 

The  county  clerk  (with  three  hundred  assistants)  computes 
the  rate  of  taxation  for  all  taxing  bodies  in  Cook  County — these 
rates  for  Cicero  are  given  below.  The  method  is  :  divide  the 
amount  to  be  laised,  the  tax  levy,  by  the  assessed  value  of  the 
property  both  real  estate  and  personal,  in  the  specification  dis 
trict.  For  example,  tow  n  of  Cicero  :  divide  the  levy,  $392,840. UO 
by  the  assessed  valuation,  $10,000,000.00,  approximately,  and 
obtain  the  rate — $3.90  per  hundred  dollars.  After  which  process 
he  "extends  the  taxes";  ie.,  multiplies  each  valuation  by  all  the 
rates  in  turn,  according  to  the  number  of  taxes  the  property  must 
pay.  The  totals  of  the  real  estate  and  personal  property  are 
kept  separate — the  taxpayer  receiving  two  notices  from  the  col- 
lector, who  receives  the  books  from  the  county  clerk. 


Schedule 
for 

Personal 
Property 


Rate 

of 

Taxation 


1920 — Rates  of  Taxation  per  Hundred 

State   $  .40 

County 52 

Town 3.68 

School  District  No.  99.  .  .    2.67 

Sanitary  District 17 

High  School   1.95 

Clyde  Park 27 

Clyde  Park  Bond 08 


Rates 

for 

1920 


56 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


A 

Light 
Burden 


Method 

of 

Collection 


Supervision 


Sound 
Condition 


Joint  School  District 
Forest  Preserve    . . . 


.09 
.06 


(98  and  99) 


Total $9.89 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  corporations  and  unoccupied 
lands  in  Cicero  pay  over  three- fourths  of  the  taxes,  the  residents 
and  small  property  owners  caring  for  the  balance.  The  assessed 
valuation  of  the  personal  property  of  the  town  is  slightly  over 
one-half  that  of  the  real  estate.  Taxes  in  Cicero  are,  indeed, 
light  in  their  burden  on  the  citizens. 

III  Collections — How  are  taxes  collected? 

Taxes  in  Cicero  are  due  March  10th,  if  the  taxpayer  wishes  to 
pay  his  bill  to  the  town  collector  at  the  town  hall.  After  that 
date  he  must  pay  the  county  collector  (county  treasurer)  at  the 
county  building  in  Chicago,  having  until  May  1st.  After  the 
latter  day  he  is  a  delinquent  and  he  has  1  per  cent  added  to  his 
tax  each  month  until  August  1st.  Then,  if  the  taxes  are  still  un- 
paid, his  property  is  sold — with  this  provision  :  he  has  two  years 
to  redeem  it  by  paying  all  taxes,  fees,  and  other  expenses.  The 
accompanying  chart  shows  the  distribution  of  every  dollar  spent 
for  taxes  in  Cicero. 

IV  Disbursements — How  are  the  payments  made? 

As  stated  in  the  duties  of  the  town  clerk  who  is  ex-omcio 
town  compcroller,  and  in  the  duties  of  the  supervisor,  ex-officic 
treasurer,  the  former  supervises  the  finances  and  issues  the 
warrants  for  money  payments,  while  thej  latter  cares  for  the 
money  itself. 

The  town  has  no  bonded  indebtedness  and  has  no  deficit ;  it 
has  an  excellent  flexible  system  of  taxation  by  the  terms  of  its 
charter.     These  two  facts  mean  a  sound  financial  condition. 


PART  IV 


PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  CICERO 

The  public  schools  and  their  product,  education,  are  con- 
sidered an  essential  part  of  the  foundation  of  the  American 
nation.  This  fact  is,  indeed,  recognized  by  the  state  of  Illinois 
which  through  the  laws  of  its  legislature  directly  controls  the 
public  schools  of  the  state.  Following  is  a  concise  outline  show- 
ing clearly  the  importance  attached  to  the  building  and  mainte- 
nance of  Illinois  schools : 

Ordinance  of  1787-"Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  be- 
ing necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind, schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  en- 
couraged. " 

Illinois  State  Constitution  of  1818-The  first  constitution  of 
the  state  confirmed: 

(a)  The  United  States'  grant  of  school  land;  i.  e„  the  section 
Mo.  16  of  each  township. 

(b)  The  United  States'  grant  of  three  per  cent  of  the  pro- 
ceeds from  all  public  lands  sold  in  Illinois  after  January  1st. 
i&iy,  tor  the  encouragement  of  learning. 

Illinois  State  Law  of  1825-The  law  provided  for  public  tax- 
ation for  a  system  of  free  schools. 

Illinois  State  Laws  of  1854  and  1855-The  law  of  1854  cre- 
ated the  office  of  superintendent  of  public  instruction;  the  law 
of  1855  prov,ded  the  general  school  legislation  for  free  schools 
with  state  aid. 

Illinois  State  Constitution  of  1870-"The  General  Assembly 
shall  provide  a  thorough  and  efficient  system  of  free  schools 
whereby  all  children  of  this  state  may  receive  a  good,  common- 
school  education." 

The  public  schools  are  operated  by  organizations  entirely 
separate  from  the  town  government.  The  unit  for  the  schools  is 
the  township,  not  the  town;  and  the  officers  are  school  officers 
not  town  officers.  The  township  unit  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
office  of  township  treasurer.     He  is  appointed  by  the  three  school 


Schools 

and 

State 


Township 
Unit 


58 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


township  trustees ;  he  handles  all  school  funds  in  the  township 
(this  includes  both  grammar  school  and  high  school  funds)  ; 
he  holds  all  school  property,  land  and  buildings,  in  the  name 
of  the  trustees.  The  latter  are  elected,  one  annually,  on  the 
second  Saturday  in  April  by  the  legal  voters  of  the  township 
The  legal  description  of  the  school  township  is  School  Town- 
ship 39  north,  range  13  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian;  and 
it  includes  all  of  the  original  township  outside  of  the  city  of 
Chicago. 


Board 

of 

Education 


Functions 


Executive 
Force 


CICERO  GRAMMAR  SCHOOLS 
Organization  and  Operation 

The  control  of  the  grammar  schools  of  Cicero  lies  in  the 
Board  of  Education  of  Grammar  School  District  99.  The  board 
consists  of  nine  members  and  a  president.  The  nine  members 
are  elected — three  annually — each  for  a  term  of  three  years. 
The  president  is  elected  each  year.  The  president  presides  at 
all  meetings  of  the  board  and  signs  all  papers  ordered  to  be 
executed  by  the  board — bonds,  notes,  leases,  and  warrants  drawn 
on  the  treasurer  of  the  township.  The  board  handles  its  busi- 
ness through  eight  committees,  which  are  as  follows: 

Buildings  and  Grounds 

Finances  and  Auditing 

Special  Building 

School  Management 

Health 

Text  Books  and  Supplies 

Rules 

Free  Indigent  Text  Books 
Its  meetings  are  held  monthly,  at  which  the  various  duties 
are  performed,  some  of  them  being :  election  of  superintendent 
supervisors,  principals,  teachers,  and  janitors  ;  selection  of  text 
books  ;  levying  of  taxes  ;  borrowing  of  money  ;  care  and  erec- 
tion of  buildings. 

The  executive  officers  of  school  administration  are  the  su- 
perintendent and  live  supervisors,  together  with  one  hundred 
and  sixty-one  teachers;  all  selected  annually  by  the  board  of 
education.   In  addition  there  are  four  office  employees  and  four 


INSTITUTIONS 


59 


teen  janitors.  Their  combined  work  is  the  care  of  six 
thousand  eight  hundred  (6,800)  children  in  the  fourteen  large 
buildings  and  the  thirteen  one-room  portable  school  houses. 

The  use  of  "portables"  and  the  fact  that  twenty-two  classes 
attended  by  eight  hundred  fifty  children  are  in  session  a  half-day 
only,  lead  to  the  question — why  ?    The  answer  is — finances. 

The  money  for  the  financial  support  of  the  schools  is  re- 
ceived, about  nine-tenths  of  it,  from  direct  local  taxation,  and 
the  remainder  from  the  state.  According  to  the  state  law  the 
grammar  school  district  may  levy  a  tax  on  one-half  the  assessed 
valuation  of  property  in  the  district  in  this  way:  1%  for  edu- 
cation and  1%  for  buildings;  the  educational  fund  may  be  in- 
creased by  0.67%  if  a  referendum  vote  of  the  people  permits  it. 
The  total  or  maximum,  then,  is  2.67% — and  that  is  Cicero's  rate 
today.  The  income  received  from  the  state  is  derived  in  these 
ways : 

1.  The  annual  appropriation  by  the  general  assembly,  which 
is  obtained  from  a  tax  levy.  This  state  school  fund  is  divided  by 
the  auditor  of  public  accounts  among  the  counties  of  the  state 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  under  twenty-one  years 
of  age.  Each  county  superintendent  after  receiving  the  share 
for  his  county  divides  the  fund  among  the  township  treasurers, 
who  in  turn  distribute  it  to  the  school  districts  in  the  respect- 
ive townships,  according  to  the  number  of  children  under  twen- 
ty-one. 

2.  The  township  fund,  which  is  a  permanent  school  fund. 
When  Illinois  became  a  state,  1818,  the  United  States  govern- 
ment donated  section  No.  16  of  each  township  to  the  support 
of  the  schools  of  that  township.  Cicero's  share*of  the  fund  re- 
ceived from  the  sale  and  rental  of  its  section  now  amounts  to 
an  income  of  $10,375.00,  which  is  divided  among  the  grammar 
schools  of  district  No.  99  on  the  same  basis  as  the  state  fund. 

3.  The  state  school  fund,  which  is  composed  of  three  per 
cent,  less  one-half  of  one  per  cent  given  to  institutions  of 
higher  learning,  of  the  returns  from  the  sales  of  public  lands 
in  the  state. 

4.  The  surplus  revenue  fund,  which  was  received  from  the 
United    States    government    in    1836— about    $500,000.      Illinois 


Tax 
Rates 


Sources 

of 

Income 


Report 
for  1920 


60  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

borrowed  the  principal,  but  pays  the  interest  at  six  per  cent  to 
the  public  schools. 

In  addition  the  district  is  allowed  a  tax  rate  of  five  per  cent 
for  bonding,  an  act  to  be  approved,  of  course,  by  a  referendum 
vote  of  the  people. 
Financial  A  summary  of  the  financial  report  of  the  grammar  school 

board  of  district  No.  99  for  the  year  from  July  1,  1919,  to  June 
30,  1920,  will  explain  the  financial  system : 

Receipts 

Balance  on  hand  July  1,  1919 $  42,039.88 

State   funds 37,991.00 

Township  funds    10,375.90 

District  taxes 261,121.82 

Tuition  paid  by  pupils 65.00 

Insurance  adjustments 1,107.40 

Anticipation  warrants  116,773.47 

Other  sources    1,196.16 

Deposit  on  building  contract 2,650.00 

Total $473,320.63 

Expenditures 

School  boards  and  office $  1,547.09 

Compulsory   education    1,290.00 

Superintendents    4,220.00 

Teaching  171,748.29 

Teachers'  pension  fund 379.00 

Interest  teachers'  orders 1,077.46 

Janitors,  engineers,  etc 27,417.00 

Fuel,  light,  power,  water,  supplies 30,570.23 

Repairs  and  replacements   12,228.84 

Libraries   5,040.17 

Promotion  of  health   2,339.74 

Grounds,  buildings,  and  alterations 52,304.81 

New  equipment  1,335.75 

Principal  of  bonds   19,500.00 

Interest  on  bonds 12,275.00 

Other  expenditures    6,172.23 

Legal 1,525.00 


INSTITUTIONS 

Anticipation  warrants 116,773.47 

Total $467,744.08 

Balance  June  30,  1920 5,576.55 


61 


$473,320.63 

The  tax  rate  of  the  district  for  the  last  five  years  also  fol- 
lows : 

1916. , $3.00  (per  hundred) 

1917 3.00 

1918 3.00 

1919 2.67  (assessed  valuation  changed  1-3  to  1-2) 

1920. 2.67 

The  total  assessed  valuation  for  district  No.  99  for  1920  for 
taxing  purposes  is  the  sum — $11,066,386.00. 

The  above  figures  and  preceding  statements  give  evidence 
of  a  serious  financial  problem  and  a  distressing  situation  in  the 
education  of  the  children.  With  the  deficit  increasing  yearly, 
and  the  amounts  obtained  by  anticipatory  warrants  gradually 
reaching  a  prohibitive  figure,  something  must  be  done,  quickly, 
whether  it  is  an  increase  in  rates  or  in  valuation  or  the  building 
of  junior  high  schools. 


Rates 

of 

Taxation 


A 

Serious 
Problem 


J.  STERLING  MORTON  HIGH  SCHOOL 
Organization  and  Operation 

The  legal  title  of  the  high  school  is  the  Cicero-Stickney 
Township  High  School.  The  district  in  its  limits  includes  Ci- 
cero, Berwyn,  that  part  of  Stickney  lying  north  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal,  and  the  village  of  Lyons.  Berwyn  is  in 
the  high  school  district  because  it  was  originally  a  part  of  Ci- 
cero.  The  portion  of  Stickney  belongs  on  account  of  the  state 
law  requiring  a  township  high  school  to  be  comprised  of  parts 
of  two  or  more  townships.  The  village  of  Lyons  by  a  petition 
of  the  people  was  joined  to  the  district  in  1920. 

The  high  school  is  governed  by  a  board  of  education  of  five 
members,  each  of  whom  has  a  term  of  three  years.  Their  elec- 
tions, however,  occur  in  rotation,  two  members  being  chosen 
one   year,  one  member  the  next,  and  two  members  the   third 


High 
School 
District 

No.  201 


Board 

of 

Education 


62 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Executive 
Personnel 


Number 

of 

Students 


year.  The  board  selects  one  of  its  members  as  president  and 
one  as  secretary,  the  former  acting  as  presiding  officer  and  as 
the  official  representative,  and  the  latter  caring  for  the  records 
and  reports.  The  work  of  the  high  school  board  as  a  whole  is, 
perhaps,  most  comparable  to  that  of  a  board  of  directors  of  a 
business  corporation — they  supervise  and  direct  and  authorize 
actions,  but  they  assign  the  actual  administration  of  the  school 
to  the  principal  and  the  assistant  principal,  each  of  whom  is 
elected  for  one  year. 

The  personnel  of  the  administrative  force  of  the  high  school 
consists  of: 

Principal 

Assistant  principal 
Seventy  teachers 
Efficiency  expert 
Librarian 
Assistant  librarian 
Director  of  continuation  school 
Assistant  director 
In  addition  there  are  the  office,  building  maintenance,  and 
lunch  room  departments,  organized  as  follows : 
Office — Business  manager  (assistant  principal) 
Bookkeeper 
Three  clerks 
Building  maintenance- 
Engineer 

Two  firemen  (one  for  night  duty) 
Night  watchman 
Three  janitors 
Laundress 
Lunch  room — 
Manager 

Assistant  manager 
Five  helpers 

The  students  of  the  high   school  are  registered  in  a   three 
fold  classification: 

A— High  school  students 932  (1921) 

B — Continuation   students 800  (1921) 


INSTITUTIONS  63 

C — Evening  school  students 2100  (total 

enrollments  for  1921) 

The  high  school  revenue  is  derived  from  direct  taxation  of 
property  in  the  high  school  district.  The  legal  limits  are  iden- 
tical with  those  of  the  grammar  school ;  namely,  a  tax  on  one- 
half  the  valuation  with  a  maximum  of  1%  for  buildings  and 
1%  for  education,  plus  0.67%  for  education  if  a  referendum  vote 
by  the  people  permits  it.  For  bonding  purposes  a  tax  rate  of 
5%  is  allowed  by  law,  provided,  of  course,  that  the  bond  issue 
is  submitted  to  the  people. 

A  summary  of  the  financial  report  of  the  Cicero-Stickney 
Township  High  School  District  No.  201  for  the  year  from  July 
1,  1919,  to  June  30,  1920,  is  submitted: 

Receipts 

Balance  on  hand  July  1,  1919 $192,934.27 

District  taxes    180,699.88 

Tuition  paid  by  pupils 640.00 

Sale  of  school  property 425.00 

Vocational  education  reimbursement 294.45 

Other  sources,  i.  e.  interest  on  bank  balances.  .  8,645.55 

Lunch  room   14,804.26 

Book  store   5,367.68 

Total $403,811.09 

Expenditures 

School  boards  and  office $  4,381.41 

Superintendents    4,910.00 

Teaching  77,779.80 

Teachers'  pension  board 201.00 

Janitors,  engineers,  etc 11,643.07 

Fuel,  light,  power,  water,  supplies 15,425.75 

Repairs  and  replacements    6,640.32 

Library    1,157.28 

Promotion  of  health 317.50 

Night  school 8,027.24 

New  equipment  12,296.43 

Principal  of  bonds   14,750.00 

fnterest  on  bonds   9,223.75 


Sources 

of 

Revenue 


Summary 

of 

1920 

Financial 

Report 


64 


THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 


Rates 

of 

Taxation 


Assessed 
Valuation 

School 

Attendance 

Law 


Smith- 
Hughes 
Act 


Other  expenditures    3,183.02 

Lunch  room 16,071.29 

Total : $192,882.64 

Balance  June  20,  1920 210,928.45 


$403,811.09 
The  rates  of  taxation  per  hundred  for  the  high  school  for 
the  preceding  five  years  are : 

1916 $2.20 

1917 2.25 

1918 1.95 

1919 1.40 

1920 1.95 

The  total  assessed  valuation  of  the  high  school  district  for 
taxing  purposes  is  $15,754,820.00  (1920). 

In  relation  to  the  schools  one  other  important  subject  must 
be  explained— the  compulsory  school  law.  If  a  student  asks 
why  he  is  in  school,  the  reply  is — state  law.  School  must  be 
held  in  every  district  at  least  110  days  in  the  year,  and  all  child- 
ren between  seven  and  fourteen  years  of  age  are  compelled  to 
attend.  If  they  are  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  they  must 
attend  or  be  at  work.  In  the  latter  case — work — the  children 
must  secure  certificates  called  "work  certificates"  from  the 
school  superintendent,  and  these  are  given  usually  on  the  con- 
dition that  the  parent  or  parents  need  the  financial  assistance 
of  the  child,  or  as  the  law  puts  it,  "he  must  be  necessarily  and 
lawfully  employed." 

In  1919,  however,  the  state  of  Illinois  accepted  the  provis- 
ions of  a  federal  law  known  as  the  Smith-Hughes  Act  of  1917. 
In  accordance  with  that  act,  Illinois  amended  the  compulsory 
school  law  by : 

1.  Providing  that,   in   all  districts   where  part-time  continu- 
ation   schools    are    established,    all    children    in    employment    be 
tween    fourteen   and    sixteen    years   of   age    shall    attend    those 
continuation  schools  for  at  least  eight  hours  each  week  during 
the  period  the  schools  are  in  session. 

2.  Requiring  that  in  1921  every  city  or  school  district  in 
which    there   are   twenty    minors   between    fourteen    and    sixteen 


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INSTITUTIONS  65 

who  are  not  in  all-day  schools  must  establish  continuation 
schools  and  that  all  minors  between  these  ages  must  attend ; 
that  in  1922,  all  minors  between  fourteen  and  seventeen  who  are 
not  in  school  must  attend  part-time  schools ;  that  in  1923,  all 
minors  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  must  attend  part-time 
schools.  The  hours  of  attendance  must  be  in  daylight,  between 
eight  in  the  morning  and  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  not  On  Sat 
urday  afternoon.  Minors  who  are  graduates  of  a  four-year 
high  school  are  not  required  to  attend  part-time  schools. 

The    part-time    continuation    school    is    under    the    direction 
and  control  of  the  high  school. 


CHAPTER  II 

CICERO  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

The  citizens  of  the  town  took  advantage  of  the  library  act      Start 
passed  bv  the  state  legislature  in  1919,  and  at  the  town  election      of 
in  April,    1920,   they   voted   to   establish  and  maintain   a  public        ™***y 
library  and  reading  room,  and  specified  a  one  and  one-third  mill 
tax  to  support  it.     The  following  year,  April,  1921,  the  people 
elected  the  board  of  directors,,  three  members,  one  with  a  one- 
year  term,  one  with  a  two-year  term,  and  one  with  a  three-year 
term.     The  terms  of  the  succeeding  members  will,  however,  be 
three  years  each,  and  no  member  receives  compensation. 

In  general  the  duties  of  the  library  board  consist  in  the  super-      Duties 
vision  of  the   library,   engagement   of  librarian   and   assistants,      of 
purchase  of  books,  and   the  maintenance  of  the  building.     The      Library 
first  duty,  however,  is  to  cause  plans  for  such  a  builing  to  be 
prepared,  an  estimate  to  be  made  of  the  cost,  a  site  to  be  se- 
lected,  and   an   estimate   of   the   cost   of   the   site   to   be   made. 
According  to  the  law  they  may  then  determine  the  time  or  the 
number  of  years  over  which  they  will  spread  the  collection  of 
the  total  cost.    The  records  and  estimates  are  transmitted  to  the 
town  board,  which  may  at  its  discretion  provide  by  ordinance 
for  the  issuance  of  bonds  to  cover  the  cost.    There  are  two  pro- 
visions regarding  the  bond  issue:  (1)  the  whole  of  the  principal 


Need 

of 

Building 


66  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

shall  be  payable  within  twenty  years;  and  (2)  the  rate  of  inter- 
est shall  not  exceed  rive  per  cent  per  annum.  Instead  of  issuing 
bonds  the  library  board,  if  it  so  desires,  may  divide  the  total 
cost  into  parts  and  the  town  board  may  enter  each  part  each 
year  in  the  tax  levy,  only  the  rate  must  not  exceed  three  and 
one-third  mills  on  the  dollar  and  the  time  of  payment  must  not 
exceed  twenty  years. 

At  the  present  time  the  library  board  is  engaged  in  the  selec- 
tion and  maintenance  of  temporary  quarters  pending  a  perma- 
nent site  and  a  permanent  building. 


CHAPTER  III 
CIVIC  ORGANIZATIONS 


In  every  community  there  are  always  various  kinds  of  civic 
organizations,  partly  private  and  partly  public  in  their  charac- 
teristics. Sometimes  they  exist  for  improvement  of  the  com- 
munity, or  to  promote  business,  or  perhaps  to  meet  the  necessity 
of  social  life  or  political  relationships ;  sometimes  they  unsel- 
fishly labor  for  the  welfare  of  the  boys  and  girls,  and  some- 
times for  the  relief  of  those  in  distress.  Cicero  has  such  organi- 
zations and  a  few  of  them  are : 
Improvement  Societies — 

Warren  Park  Improvement  Club 

Lithuanian  Improvement  Club  of  Grant  Works 

Clyde  Woman's  Club 

The  Rotary  Club 

The   Chamber  of  Commerce 
Lodges — 

Clyde  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows 

Ladies  of  Rebecca 

Loyal  Order  of  Moose 

Cicero  Lodge  of  Free  Masons 

Order  of  the  Eastern  Star 
Military  Organizations — 

Community  Service  League 


INSTITUTIONS 


67 


Cicero  Home  Guards 
American  Legion 

Social  Service  Groups- 
Boy  Scouts 
Camp  Fire  Girls 
Cicero  Welfare  Center 

Business  Associations — 

Hawthorne  Business  Men's  Association 
Grant  Works  Business  Men's  Association 
Twenty-fifth  Street  Business  Men's  Association 
Twenty-second  Street  Business  Men's  Association 

Social  and  Political  Organizations — 
People's  Club  of  Warren  Park 
Polish  National  Alliance 
Bohemian  National  Alliance 
Cicero  Good  Fellowship  Club 
Young  People's  Socialist  League 

The  following  statements  are  brief  explanations  of  three  of 
the  preceding  organizations,  selected  because  of  their  funda- 
mental principle,  "community  service." 


THE  ROTARY  CLUB 

The  Rotary  Club  is  a  unique  organization.  It  originated  in 
1905  when  four  Chicago  men,  one  a  lawyer,  one  a  mining  ope- 
rator, one  a  coal  dealer,  and  the  fourth  a  tailor,  decided  to  form 
a  club.  They  did  so,  and  very  shortly  they  enlarged  their  mem- 
bership by  representatives  from  other  lines  of  business  to  the 
number  of  fifty.  The  name  "Rotary"  was  selected  by  the  Chi- 
cago Club  on  account  of  the  method  of  holding  meetings  in  rota- 
tion at  the  various  members'  places  of  business.  The  idea  spread 
to  San  Francisco,  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  to  Canada, 
and  to  foreign  countries — so  that  now  there  is  a  strong  "In- 
ternational Association  of  Rotary  Clubs." 

The  club  is  composed  of  one  member  from  each  distinct  line 
of  business  or  profession.  The  plan  results  in  a  fair  represen- 
tation of  all  the  diverse  interests  of  the  community,  a  social 
contact  of  these  interests,  and  a  powerful  co-operation  by  them 
to  develop  high  moral  standards  and  to  promote  the  civic,  corn- 


Origin 

of 
"Rotary* 


Organi- 
zation 


Aims 


Civic 
Record 


.0  THE  TOWN  OF  CICERO 

bo 

mercial,  and  social  welfare  of  the  town.     Their  motto  is  excel- 
lent :  "He  profits  most  who  serves  best. 

THE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE 
The  Cicero  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  organized  October 
1    1920    starting  with  a  membership  of  558,  which  number  has 
since  been  increased  to  593.     Membership  is  open  tc .all  bust 
ness  and  professional  men,  and  to  any  ^™«t«.    Th  r 
is  an  annual  membership  fee  of  twenty-five  dollars     The  organ 
*Ws  affairs  are  supervised  by  the  board  of  directors,  six- 
;ee     membe       meeting  semi-monthly,  who  assign  the  actual 
execute  and  directive  work  to  a  regular  managing  secretary. 
The  other  officers  are  president,  first  vice-president,  -on^1Ce 
President  and  treasurer.     Their  offices  are  m  the  building  ot  the 
Pnkert  State  Bank  at  Forty-eighth  Avenue  and  Twenty-second 
Sreet     This  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  a  member  of  the  Illinois 
(state)  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  objects  of  the  organization  deserve  attention: 

1.  To  gather  and  distribute  business,   social,  and  economic 

Sta2StTo%romote  equitable  principles  of  trade  and  commercial 

"'Tto' consider  all  problems  of  public  service  and  civic  de- 

^Tsecure  co-operation  of  all  organizations  and  of  all  eh- 
ize„s  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  prosper,  y  ^^ 

men^"crmTe7of^mmerce  thus  far  will  illustrate  the 

exoression  "civic  development    :  , 

following  of  the  legislative  acts  at  Springfield. 
Improvement  of  Cicero's  mail  service. 
Initiative  of  park  and  playground  legislation. 

thousand.  remittee  for  co-operative  work  and  ad- 

graph  machines  operated  on  a  cost  basis. 


INSTITUTIONS 


69 


Initiative  toward  construction  of  a  bridge  over  the  canal  at 
Forty-eighth  Avenue. 

Consideration  of  street  car  question  with  views  of: 

Town  officials 

City  of  Chicago  officials 

Chicago  and  West  Towns  Railway  Co. 
Enabling  act  by  state  legislature  to  provide  Cicero  with  a 
zoning  commission  and  a  zoning  law. 

Investigation  of  stock  selling  schemes  in  Cicero. 
Promotion  of  Cicero  spirit  and  Cicero  development. 


THE  CICERO  WELFARE  CENTER 

The  Welfare  Center  has  been  organized  for  two  years — 
1919  and  1920.  Beginning  in  a  modest  way  with  its  rooms  at 
2215  South  Fifty-second  Avenue  it  has  gradually  developed  in 
its  work  and  influence  to  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 
that  can  scarcely  be  realized. 

Its  affairs  are  conducted  by  the  following  officers : 

President,  vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer ;  and  by  these 
committees  :  Finance,  house  affairs,  schools,  medical  board,  ways 
and   means,   affiliation,   membership,   publicity. 

Its  work  is  so  varied  that  only  an  outline  of  the  good  which 
has  been  done  can  be  given  here : 

Relief  to  sufferers  from  disease  and  poverty. 

Christmas  cheer  to  the  poor. 

Assistance  to  the  juvenile  court. 

Securing  of  pensions  to  widows. 

Help  to  working  girls ;  clothing  and  schooling. 

Employment  for  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls. 

Infantile  paralysis  clinics,  held  upnder  the  supervision  of 
Doctor  East  and  the  Illinois  State  Department  of  Health. 

Tuberculosis  clinics,  held  under  the  supervision  of  Doctor 
East  and  the  Chicago  Tuberculosis  Institute. 

Certainly  such  a  record  as  medical  advice  and  assistance  to 
594  diseased  and  crippled  children,  of  whom  141  were  suffering 
with  tuberculosis ;  or  the  distribution  of  fifty  Christmas  baskets 
to  the  poor;  or  the  125  personal  calls  to  relieve  the  destitute, 
and  help  the  ill,  and  comfort  the  distressed :  such  a  record  is  an 
honor  both  to  the  orgaanization  and  to  the  town  tht  supports  it. 


Location 


Organi- 
zation 


Kinds 

of 

Work 


Credit 

to 

Cicero 


• 


